LAWS SPEAKING FOR VOICELESS

Sir,
 
Just as we commenced the month of October, the public gallery of Parliament was packed to capacity as concerned human rights activists came to hear the shocking news of the removal of proposed clauses in the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill, 2015.

The four removed clauses include incest, flashing, abduction and unlawful stalking, legislation against which is vital if we are to make our homes, streets and communities safer places.
The Bill has objectives that include realising certain rights which are enshrined in the Constitution of Swaziland Act of 2005, including the right to equal protection by the law, the right to privacy, the right to protection from inhumane and degrading treatment, among others, not to mention several international treaties and conventions we have signed.

Passing the Bill without these essential and core clauses is not going to aid the country in meeting such international objectives.
Every day we hear of how women and children suffer because the law does not fully support them, or fully persecute the perpetrators.
How can anyone claim we do not need greater incest and abduction legislation when one in three children will experience sexual violence before their 18th birthday, half of those violations being caused by a relative or someone they know or trust?

This SODV Bill and these clauses in particular are not meant to undermine or threaten Swazi culture.
They are not a Western expression of power over us and our ways. It is just common sense.

The current laws, many of which are nearly a century old, cannot accurately govern our new way of life. We have an obligation, internationally, constitutionally and morally to protect every Swazi woman, child and man against any kind of violence, abuse and inhumane treatment.

Violence and abuse of this nature marginalises women and girls, as well as orphans and vulnerable children, making them susceptible to HIV/AIDS, STIs and further abuse.
Gender disparities exacerbate the problem by silencing a woman’s voice and choice in issues such as safe sex negotiation, family planning and sexual and reproductive rights. We need a Bill to speak for those who are voiceless, to defend those who feel they have no one.

We need a Bill for every Swazi: man, woman and child.
In a local newspaper  of Friday, October 6, it was reported that the portfolio committee of the Deputy Prime Minister’s (DPM) office, chaired by Sandleni Member of Parliament James Simelane, went ‘back to the drawing board’ to deliberate these clauses once again, before the Bill is tabled in Parliament. The MP was quoted as saying; “With further consultations, we believe that there is a way in which the clauses could be reinserted with changes in wording or other strategies.”

Kwakha Indvodza supports and commends the Speaker, parliamentarians, the portfolio committee and its chairman MP Simelane, in finding ways to reinsert the removed clauses back into the Bill.
Without them, this is a shadow of the legislation we have been crying out for. After over a decade in to and fro, this is the time for heroic action, for men like Mhlonishwa Simelane to stand up for the Swaziland we want to see, to advocate for real and lasting change for our dear country, which is overwhelmed by gender inequality, HIV and AIDS, poverty and gender based violence, among many other disasters.

With the approaching 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence approaching, the passing of the Bill with all its clauses intact would be a monumental international achievement and a wonderful way to mark the commencement of the Campaign on November 25.
Our sisters, mothers and children in such times desperately need this Bill to include all the clauses, for their protection and the protection of all Swazis in the decades to come.

Kwakha Indvodza.

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