A.G. is ‘Legalizing’ Patriarchy
So, Mr. Majahenkhaba Dlamini of Nkhaba, son of his mother
and Chief Bhekimpi believes that women are not only weak to lead, but also states
that they are so weak they would wreck the leadership structure that comes with
the position of Chief of area, and further asserts that they would ruin the
nation at large, starting at family level, if ‘allowed’ to occupy this space of
authority?
Okay, okay, take two --- slowly this time. So Majahenkhaba, the Attorney General (AG) of the Kingdom of Swaziland, the
custodian at highest enforcing officer of the laws of the country, one of the
key individuals in constitutional justice oversight of the country, has warned
the courts and law practitioners to distance themselves from legal disputes
involving women chiefs simply because he believes that women of Swaziland are
what Delilah was to Samson?
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| Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini shakes hands with High Court Judge Mumcy Dlamini who is also the AG's wife. #SwaziJustice |
Did I just blink to wake up in the year 1973…like way before
I was born? Did I just get dyslexic because I do remember reading this week, a
report stating “The African Union’s theme for 2016 is ‘Human rights, with a
particular focus on the rights of women’”?
Never mind then that there have been numerous global efforts
to correct the gender imbalance in all spaces of society…Even culminating in
agreements to address gender equity and restore gender justice i.e. international
laws and legal frameworks that Swaziland has committed to, through global
institutions like the United Nations and African Union.
May I remind you of just a few of the milestones made in
this regard and under the African Union alone; the African Charter on Human and
People’s Rights (1986) ensures the promotion and protection of human rights on
the continent, while the Maputo Protocol (2005) contains the legal framework
for women’s rights on the continent.
In addition, the Swaziland Constitution
(2005) states that: ‘Women have the right to equal treatment with men and that
right shall include equal opportunities in political, economic and social
activities.’
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| Swaziland women during a parliamentary election campaign aimed at sensitizing the public about gender equity and representation in political, economic and social activities as enshrined in the Swaziland Constitution. #SwaziJustice |
It’s not surprising that Majahenkhaba would think and
believe such views about women when you consider the AG’s background of being
born into a household led by a male Chief. Perhaps his views are motivated by
behind the scenes dramas within his chiefdom (and fellow chiefdoms) that we
ordinary folk would not be privy to.
It is however, worrying and quite scary that even as the
number one custodian of our legal governance structures; he is not able to
separate his personal capacity from his professional one. Or, it could be that
the reality of our dual legal system of governance is such that it is almost
impractical to separate personal from professional.
Our unique combination of
application of Swazi Customary Law and Civil Law in governance structures will
never be in favor of the woman in particular and therefore the nation.
The AG’s remarks are so pregnant with…everything distasteful
to the feminist really. I don’t even know which part of the inappropriateness
of his speech I should address first.
I mean, what are the implications of the
AG’s remarks in terms of what the constitution promises about gender equity, women
rights (which are primarily human rights because women are human. Duh!).
Or is this
the AG telling us that it doesn’t matter what the constitution states, some
people do not have to uphold it and these people include Chiefs and lawyers and
courts as per his warning to them not to get involved? Is the AG telling us that the constitution is a document so useless in practical terms that even us citizens should not consider building our lives and aspirations around it?
So what are the courts
for then if not for the people to get legal redress? Sentani kan’?
Even with the constitution adopted, it is a fact and harsh
reality that women in Swaziland today still bear the brunt of gender injustice,
still battling struggles that should be easy to resolve legally, simple
domestic matters such as child maintenance, and property ownership (think
widows especially).
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| OUTSPOKEN: House of Senate President Gelane Zwane. She is also the Acting Chief of koNtshingila, an area marred by controversy around the Chieftaincy throne for several years now. #SwaziJustice |
And yet now, Majahenkhaba is planting a seed in our minds
that women should not even be involved in making decisions for themselves
through community leadership structures such as the chieftaincy.
Do you see what this means? It means we women, whether we
are CEOs, or even a judge of the High Court in which he made these unpalatable
remarks, must ‘respectfully’ go back to our smoke-filled kitchens and take a seat
or better yet continue with the cooking so that our knowledgeable husbands and
sons come home to a wholesome meal.
Stru! I’m telling you, chiefs, chiefs-in-waiting and alleged
chiefs will be riding on the AG’s words like maybe they are the bible and/or
constitution of the land. These are the words they have been waiting for – what
with the chieftaincy disputes consuming many of the country’s chiefdoms.
Mr. AG why are we provoking and disseminating misogynist
interpretations of the Swazi laws and Swazi society, inciting gender vitriol
and enforcing patriarchy in the same lifetime in which we speak of reaching
‘first world status’ with our Vision 2022?
If you want to see the face of a
first world status woman, look at Hillary Clinton who is eyeing the
Presidential seat in the United States. Or is this you Mr. AG also telling us
‘to hell with Vision 2022 and its first world things’?
We, women in particular, should not take the AG’s words lightly.
And I hope we are galvanizing and organizing ourselves to confront the AG; to
remind him that we are human first before we are women, that we are mothers who
give birth to boys and raise them into men, strong men who end up occupying
positions of leadership and authority, strong men who remember that their mothers,
wives and leaders who live by the words ‘Live so that when your children think
of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you’.
We will not allow for the additional
institutionalization and legalization of patriarchy in our lifetime, as if we
don’t have it bad already.
Womandla!
Womandla!
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| Aluta Continua |
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