Politics in Swaziland: Hide And Seek
10 Nov 2008
10 Nov 2008
Swazi gender activists are angry that King Mswati III and the newly elected Parliament have betrayed their hopes, and the Constitution, by not appointing more women to the House of Assembly and the Senate.
In the September elections, just seven women were elected to the Assembly, which numbers 55 members (MPs)
Yet hope for better representation was not lost at that point. As Lomcebo Dlamini, national coordinator of the rights group Women in Law in Southern Africa-Swaziland explained, the 2005 Constitution stipulates several measures to increase the number of women in Parliament .
* Section 86: the House of Assembly shall appoint four women, one from each region, if females are less than 30 percent of the House.
* Section 95: the King will appoint 10 members into the House of Assembly, half of whom shall be women.
* Section 94: the King shall appoint 20 people into the House of Senate, eight of whom shall be women. The House of Assembly shall appoint 10 people into the Senate, five of whom shall be women.
But all hopes of getting at least a 30 percent representation were quashed on Oct. 17 when the King appointed only two women to the Assembly and seven to the Senate.
"This is very disappointing," said Meketane Mazibuko, gender coordinator with the Lutheran Development Services. "It's even worse when the head of state violates the country's Constitution just to deprive women a chance of fair representation in Parliament."
WLSA's Dlamini was shocked that the King, who has said he is the Constitution's number one defender, was not ashamed of violating the supreme law of the land and depriving women of their rights.
Observers say that King Mswati, Africa's last absolute monarch, was angry about a protest by women's groups in August against the extravagant expenditures of the royal family.
Mazibuko also criticised the quality of MPs appointed by the King; most are princes, princesses and chiefs without the skills to be legislators.
"It's just numbers, not quality," said Mazibuko.
The new cabinet also fails the scorecard on gender equality. Out of 18 cabinet ministers, only five are women.
Hide and seek
Taking a cue from the King, the Assembly has ignored the constitutional requirement to elect one woman from each of the four administrative regions.
Instead, both the chair of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), Chief Gija Dlamini, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Prince Guduza Dlamini, seem to be playing hide-and-seek with each other, and with the nation.
While Guduza insists that the Constitution calls for Parliament to elect the four women at the instance of the EBC chairperson, Chief Dlamini argues that his role ended when the MPs were sworn in.
"We don't even have a budget for this exercise," said Dlamini. "We're done with the elections."
Prince Guduza requested guidance from the Attorney General, Majahenkhaba Dlamini, but he washed his hands of the issue.
"This is a matter between the Speaker and the EBC chairman," said Dlamini. "This needs no legal advice, it's just a matter of two people doing what is required of them by the Constitution."
According to Nonhlanhla Dlamini, a gender activist and MP for Ludzeludze constituency , the arcane wording creates confusion.
"There is a need to rephrase the Constitution in Section 86," said Dlamini. "When we tried to address this issue during the first sitting, MPs argued that the King's appointees were not in place and we couldn't carry on."
When Dlamini suggested, after the King failed to meet the quota, that the Assembly should appoint at least eight women instead of five to the Senate, she was ignored.
When Dlamini recommended appointing people with needed skills such as lawyers and economists, she was derided. "Just look at these women," said one male MP scornfully.
"I felt prejudiced because besides being a woman, I'm also a human being and I want to be treated as such," said Dlamini. "Had it been a formal meeting I would have demanded an apology."
During an orientation meeting last week, women MPs were told by their male colleagues not to wear miniskirts and to cover their hair with scarves and hats, not wigs.
"I was very disappointed that when we have so many priority issues such as HIV/AIDS and poverty, MPs decided to discuss miniskirts and headscarves," said the outspoken Dlamini.
She and her women colleagues will need all their skills and spunk to deal with such entrenched attitudes.
(END/2008)
In the September elections, just seven women were elected to the Assembly, which numbers 55 members (MPs)
Yet hope for better representation was not lost at that point. As Lomcebo Dlamini, national coordinator of the rights group Women in Law in Southern Africa-Swaziland explained, the 2005 Constitution stipulates several measures to increase the number of women in Parliament .
* Section 86: the House of Assembly shall appoint four women, one from each region, if females are less than 30 percent of the House.
* Section 95: the King will appoint 10 members into the House of Assembly, half of whom shall be women.
* Section 94: the King shall appoint 20 people into the House of Senate, eight of whom shall be women. The House of Assembly shall appoint 10 people into the Senate, five of whom shall be women.
But all hopes of getting at least a 30 percent representation were quashed on Oct. 17 when the King appointed only two women to the Assembly and seven to the Senate.
"This is very disappointing," said Meketane Mazibuko, gender coordinator with the Lutheran Development Services. "It's even worse when the head of state violates the country's Constitution just to deprive women a chance of fair representation in Parliament."
WLSA's Dlamini was shocked that the King, who has said he is the Constitution's number one defender, was not ashamed of violating the supreme law of the land and depriving women of their rights.
Observers say that King Mswati, Africa's last absolute monarch, was angry about a protest by women's groups in August against the extravagant expenditures of the royal family.
Mazibuko also criticised the quality of MPs appointed by the King; most are princes, princesses and chiefs without the skills to be legislators.
"It's just numbers, not quality," said Mazibuko.
The new cabinet also fails the scorecard on gender equality. Out of 18 cabinet ministers, only five are women.
Hide and seek
Taking a cue from the King, the Assembly has ignored the constitutional requirement to elect one woman from each of the four administrative regions.
Instead, both the chair of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), Chief Gija Dlamini, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Prince Guduza Dlamini, seem to be playing hide-and-seek with each other, and with the nation.
While Guduza insists that the Constitution calls for Parliament to elect the four women at the instance of the EBC chairperson, Chief Dlamini argues that his role ended when the MPs were sworn in.
"We don't even have a budget for this exercise," said Dlamini. "We're done with the elections."
Prince Guduza requested guidance from the Attorney General, Majahenkhaba Dlamini, but he washed his hands of the issue.
"This is a matter between the Speaker and the EBC chairman," said Dlamini. "This needs no legal advice, it's just a matter of two people doing what is required of them by the Constitution."
According to Nonhlanhla Dlamini, a gender activist and MP for Ludzeludze constituency , the arcane wording creates confusion.
"There is a need to rephrase the Constitution in Section 86," said Dlamini. "When we tried to address this issue during the first sitting, MPs argued that the King's appointees were not in place and we couldn't carry on."
When Dlamini suggested, after the King failed to meet the quota, that the Assembly should appoint at least eight women instead of five to the Senate, she was ignored.
When Dlamini recommended appointing people with needed skills such as lawyers and economists, she was derided. "Just look at these women," said one male MP scornfully.
"I felt prejudiced because besides being a woman, I'm also a human being and I want to be treated as such," said Dlamini. "Had it been a formal meeting I would have demanded an apology."
During an orientation meeting last week, women MPs were told by their male colleagues not to wear miniskirts and to cover their hair with scarves and hats, not wigs.
"I was very disappointed that when we have so many priority issues such as HIV/AIDS and poverty, MPs decided to discuss miniskirts and headscarves," said the outspoken Dlamini.
She and her women colleagues will need all their skills and spunk to deal with such entrenched attitudes.
(END/2008)
Source: http://www.ipsnews.net/
