Swaziland: Implications of Sex Ban on Young Women

What Are the Implications of the New Sex Ban for Young Women in
Swaziland?

Interview With Phepsile Maseko, Coordinator of the National Youth
Gender Caucus of Swaziland

By Shamillah Wilson

What is the five-year sex ban imposed on young women recently?

On 16 September 2001, the Swaziland government announced a five-year sex ban
for young women in an attempt to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. This means
that during the five-year period, young women will have to observe a five-
year prohibition on sex which includes no shaking of hands with males, no
wearing of pants and in addition, young women will have to wear woolen
tassels (symbolizing their untouchability) wherever they go for the next
five
years. The age group targeted has not been clearly stated, but women who
are
in relationships and older than 19 years will be expected to wear red and
black tassels, and those still virgins will wear blue with yellow. This new
intervention will be policed by traditional chiefs who still rule over much
of Swazi society. Anyone who fails to observe the rules would be fined
1,300
Emalangeni (about $152) or one cow.

Why did the government impose this ban?

Following the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the breakdown of the social fabric and the
general crisis of the present system in Swaziland, the ruling monarch needed
an excuse to disguise and avoid responsibility for the area's problems. In
doing so he resorted to all sorts of schemes and short-cut fixations such as
the sex ban on women only. This means he will also be able to freely
identify
all virgins to satisfy his limitless social appetite. In so doing he is
laying the blame for this crisis on young people in general and young women
in particular and ignoring the problems caused by the government. He has
just built a hospital for the royal family while the majority of the
population cannot access basic health. Also, he has built huge palaces and
infrastructure projects that benefit only the royal family and has increased
army spending to protect royal privileges from the wrath of the poor masses.

Do you think this ban will meet its desired objective of combating
HIV/AIDS? What do you think the impact will be?

In terms of the impact of HIV/AIDS, more than 50,000 have died in Swaziland,
which has a population of about one million. But the problem is much
bigger. By announcing this ban, the government is clearly demonstrating an
unwillingness to deal effectively with the epidemic. First, it does not try
to address the problem through government policies and programs. It does
not
address the need to care of those already infected with the virus nor it
does
not introduce ways to prevent the spread of the disease through preventative
methods such as good public awareness and education programmes. In addition,
it does not increase access to reproductive healthcare services and
information for young people. What it does do is demonize the issue of
HIV/AIDS hoping that this approach will simply make it go away while further
marginalizing those people already infected.

Finally, it only entrenches the power imbalances within such a patriarchal
culture by making women's sexual activity an unnatural one that can have
fatal consequences for men and reinforces that control of women within
society. It encourages male sexual patterns and absolves them of any
responsibility in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Instead of stopping sexual activity, it could have the effect of making it
one of those underground activities.

What has been the response from young people?

The announcement has generally been met with outrage from young people.
Why? Because it only focuses on young women and in turn violates the rights
of young women. It violates their rights to non-discrimination, their right
to liberty and security and their right to enjoy the highest standard of
physical and mental health. It explicitly places the blame for HIV/AIDS at
the feet of women and does not even mention anything about men and their
sexual patterns. So, it very clearly delays progress as it is contrary to
gender equality.

What is the National Youth Gender Caucus and what are organizations
such as yours doing about the ban?

The National Youth Gender Caucus is an outcome of a process of joint
programs
between a wide range of youth formations, ranging from church, rural
students
and SWAYOCO. It was founded in 1998 and has since been an independent
organization. The organization focuses on building the capacity of young
women by involving young people around issues of gender, development and
human rights. Furthermore, it is a vehicle to lobby and advocate for gender
equality in Swaziland. The organization believes that if women become
conscious of their human rights, they will start resisting and challenging
abuses in their daily lives.

How can organizations like ours organize around this ban? We want to launch
a
campaign to raise funds to challenge the ban. Currently, we have a
situation
where women do not necessarily understand their rights. So the first thing
we need to do is to start building that capacity. This will include looking
at gender issues from economic, political, health, education and cultural
perspectives and how they affect women in their daily lives. We would
initially target young women and men because in order to challenge the ban,
a
partnership between young people will be imperative. The campaign would
also
need to go much wider. We would also need to start making our voices heard
in government and of course begin sensitizing all members of society,
particularly the traditional leaders themselves. Our goal would be to help
them realize the importance of challenging inequalities and its
institutionalization through a ban such as this.

Is anyone openly challenging this sex ban in Swaziland at the moment?

Yes, PUDEMO (People`s United Democratic Movement), SWAYOCO (Swaziland Youth
Congress), Trade Unions, SCAPEI (Economic-Justice movement), Swaziland
National Union of Students, Swaziland Association of Students, churches,
various rural movements, the Human Rights Association of Swaziland and
several women's organizations.

Have there been any consequences for them?

They have been politically prosecuted and socially victimized.

Also, has anyone been caught disobeying the ban?

Yes, students have been kicked out of school by soldiers when they
could not pay the fine.

In terms of broader advocacy, what human rights instruments is
Swaziland a signatory to which could assist you in lobbying against
this ban?

Swaziland is a signatory to CEDAW, the United Nations Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and the Beijing Platform of Action. It is important to
note,
however, that the women who attend these international events are either the
wives of the King or the wives of Members of Parliament. When they are in
these spaces they are quiet, simply because the human rights violations that
occur do not impact on them in the same way as the ordinary Swazi citizen.

Are there other organizations that can assist you in challenging and
mobilizing against this ban?

We are working closely with other human rights NGO's, women`s and student
formations in Swaziland as well as the trade unions to strategize on how to
collaborate to challenge human rights abuses.

Secondly, support from the international human rights community would also
be
welcome. We need help in raising funds to challenge these human rights
violations, share strategies with us and participate in other collaborative
efforts as well. As noted before, the international human rights community
should be skeptical of Swaziland's human rights structures. It may have
signed on to many human rights conventions but given that the people who
represent Swaziland at these meetings do not really represent the Swazi
people we should be suspect of the government's real commitment.

Shamillah Wilson is AWID's Young Women and Leadership Theme Manager

----------------------------------------
THE AWID RESOURCE NET is brought to you by The Association for Women's
Rights in Development (AWID). Announcements posted on this discussion list
do not necessarily reflect the opinion of AWID, but are meant to provoke
thought, generate solutions and inspire action.
*
To join this list, simply send an email with the words 'subscribe resource'
in the body of the email message to [email protected].
*
To remove yourself from this list, send an email with the words 'unsubscribe
resource' in the body of the email message to [email protected].
*
To contribute to Resource Net write to [email protected].
*
You are free to replicate AWID's information in other formats, and use it in
your advocacy, provided you give credit to the Association.
*
AWID is an international membership organization committed to gender
equality
and a just and sustainable development process. AWID facilitates an open
exchange among researchers, practitioners, policymakers and others in order
to develop effective and transformative approaches for improving the lives
of
women and girls worldwide. If you are not already a member of AWID, find out
more about the Association by sending a blank e-mail message to
[email protected], or visit our web site at www.awid.org. You can
also contact us directly to receive a free information packet.
*
The Association for Women's Rights in Development
666 11th Street, NW, Suite 450
Washington, DC 20001
USA
Tel: 202-628-0440
Fax: 202-628-0442
Email: [email protected]
*
Toronto Secretariat:
96 Spadina Avenue, Suite 401
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 2J6
Tel: 416 594 3773
Fax: 416 594 0330
Email: [email protected]
*