UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 10) Further, Eswatini has made progress in developing sector policies guiding the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights as well as improving the livelihoods of Emaswati. These include National Gender Policy, Education and Training Sector Policy 2018 …
Para 11) During the period under review, Eswatini’s jurisprudence on the elimination of discrimination and inequality has made positive strides, thereby protecting and promoting the rights of women in accordance with Sections 20 and 28 of the Constitution and further giving effect to the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other instruments that the country has ratified.
Para 12) In this regard, reference is made to the case of Makhosazane Eunice Sacolo (nee Dlamini) and Another vs. Jukhi Justice Sacolo and 2 Others (1403/16) [2019] SZHC (166) 30th August 2019 wherein the Court declared the common law doctrine of marital power invalid in that it is discriminatory against married women and offends against the Constitutional right to equality before the law and the right to dignity. The Court further declared that spouses married in terms of the Marriage Act 1964 and in Community of Property have equal capacity and authority to administer marital property. Women in Eswatini are now able to buy and sell property, sign contracts, and conduct legal proceedings without their husbands’ consent.
Para 39) The National Gender Policy 2010 has been reviewed to align it with the Beijing declaration and Platform for Action as well as other regional and international frameworks. This policy will guide gender mainstreaming strategies for the next 10 years (2020–2030). However, due to the COVID 19 pandemic disruptions, it is yet to be implemented and integrated into national budgets.
Para 40) Eswatini has continued to invest in women driven economic empowerment initiatives, with the leadership from government’s strategic roadmap 2019–2023. A case in point is E100 million has been used to establish the Women’s Business Hub in Manzini.
Para 41) The Small, Micro and Medium Enterprise (SMME) Policy 2018 and the Eswatini National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2017-2022) have been adopted to contribute to poverty alleviation by enabling alternative channels to serve the poor.
Para 42) The major aim of the Financial Inclusion Strategy is to ensure the “delivery of financial services and products in ways that are available, accessible and affordable to all segments” of the country’s populace. The target is to grow adult access from 43% to 75% and reduce the excluded from 27% to 15% by 2022. The target will be achieved by expanding mobile money services (e-money) increasing usage of banks, reducing risks in management of financial services and devising alternative ways of serving the poor. Further, it targets the un-served or underserved in rural areas; women and youth; Micro, Small & Medium Entrepreneurs including in the agriculture sector. The Strategy will facilitate the participation of Women and Youth Entrepreneurs in economic activities, particularly women in the Informal sector who often lack access to credit for business start-ups and growth. Studies reveal that the Informal sector provides employment to 40.2 percent women compared to 25.5 percent men.
Para 43) Further, the country has developed a Citizens Economic Empowerment Bill 2021 to enable equal participation of women and men in economic transformation. The Bill seeks to, among other issues, “promote gender equality in accessing, owning, managing, controlling and exploiting economic resources”.
Para 44) The Government of Eswatini has established the Federation of National Associations of women in business in Eastern and Southern Africa (FEMCOM) along with a strategic plan of 2018-2022. FEMCOM is responsible for facilitating economic empowerment of women and youth entrepreneurs. Its mandate is to promote programmes, which integrate women into trade and development activities in various business fields, thus contributing to national development and the promotion of vision 2022.
Para 45) In 2020, the Government launched 50 Million African Women’s Speak digital Platform. To contribute to the economic empowerment of women through the provision of a networking platform that will enable women in business to access information and financial services. Specifically, the objective is to establish a platform to improve the ability of women entrepreneurs to network and share information as well as to access information on financial and non-financial services.
Para 46) Eswatini is currently using the definition of discrimination in terms of section 20 of the Constitution read together with the reviewed Gender policy which has aligned the definition of discrimination with that in CEDAW. A legislation that will comprehensively domesticate CEDAW is yet to be developed. Further, a pack of family law bills have been developed that seek to domesticate certain parts of CEDAW and are currently undergoing stakeholder consultation processes.
Para 47) Section 211(2) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini provides that all citizens of Eswatini have access to land regardless of gender. However, post the Constitution, some Chiefdoms followed the traditional system of land allocation. This meant that women only accessed land through males which could either be their husbands, male relative or male child. For some women who were unmarried or widowed, access to land remained a struggle. However, it is worth mentioning that there is now a paradigm shift from the patronage system as most Chiefs are aware of the Constitutional rights of women, thus land is accessible to women without the assistance of a male. Efforts are being made to develop an information management system that will provide statistical data on this development.
Para 48) With regards to representation of women in politics, Eswatini enacted the Election of Women Members into the House of Assembly Act No. 06 of 2018 to ensure that at least 30% of women constitute the House of Assembly, thereby giving effect to section 86 of the Constitution. However, this target has not been met as currently, women legislators constitute 20.38% of the legislators, and 29% at Cabinet.
Para 49) There are still barriers that hinder women’s ability to be elected or appointed into decision making positions such as patriarchy, economic disadvantages, social stereotypes, and socio-political perceptions around women’s leadership. As a mitigating measure, Eswatini is developing a National Strategy on women’s participation in politics and decision-making. This strategy seeks to address barriers to women’s participation.
Para 50) The Elections and Boundaries Commission conducts Civic Voter education to sensitize members of the public on the electoral process before elections. Further Civil Society Organisations conduct educational vote for women campaigns to ensure women’s participation in politics and decision-making structures. Women candidates and nominees are capacitated on leadership and campaigning skills prior to Secondary Elections.
Para 51) The Constitution protects women and girls from being forced to contract marriages without their consent and being subjected to customs they are opposed to in conscience. Therefore, customary practices of kungenwa, kwendziswa and others are no longer practised against the free and full consent of the intending spouses. At a Customary marriage ceremony, the presence of a Chief’s representative plays an important role of witnessing the proceedings of the ceremony including if the woman is a consenting party to the marriage.
Para 52) With regards to the fixed legal age to marry, the country is reviewing the Marriage Act of 1964 which will fix the marriageable age to 18 for both males and females. A draft Marriages Bill is currently undergoing legislative processes.
Para 53) There are on-going community dialogues, sensitisation campaigns, media advocacy on the adherence to laws protecting children, in particular the girl child, against harmful practices that hinder their full development. Where there are suspected reported cases of child marriages, the office of the Deputy Prime Minister attends to the cases and as a result several children have been removed from forced marriages and cases referred to the criminal justice system for investigations and prosecution.
Para 85) With regards to Persons with Albinism (PWA), Eswatini has designed and is implementing programs to support PWA, which include amongst others community dialogues to change the stereotypical negative thinking and myths about PWA as well as protecting them from harmful practices.
Para 89) Further, the general principles of criminal and statutory law apply with same effect in cases of harmful practices such as ritual killings, “mercy killings”, mutilations, trafficking of organs and body parts, infanticide, or premeditated killing of PWA. During trial the Court considers crimes committed against PWD as aggravated, in particular if there is proof that the victim lived with disabilities.

UN Compilation:
Para 11) The United Nations country team indicated that, although Eswatini had supported six recommendations regarding the protection of persons with albinism during its second universal periodic review, those persons continued to face discrimination and violence, including killings and murders for ritual purposes. The country team regretted that Eswatini had not yet accepted the request of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism to visit the country.
Para 55) The United Nations country office in Eswatini indicated that the State had made significant strides in addressing gender inequalities. However, pervasive structural disparities, deep-rooted harmful gender stereotypes and patriarchal attitudes had led to gender inequalities that disadvantaged women, while the country’s dual legal system – which was based on a constitutional legal framework and traditional and customary laws – provided women and girls with limited protection.
Para 56) The HR Committee noted with concern that several domestic laws contained discriminatory provisions towards women, such as the Marriage Act, and chapter 4 of the Constitution, which differentiated between men and women in the acquisition and transfer of citizenship. The Committee was also concerned that customary law and practices perpetuated inequality between men and women, in particular with regard to inheritance and property rights, and that cultural practices such as polygamy, forced marriage and bride inheritance continued to exist. The lack of equal representation of women in the public and private sectors, in particular in decision-making positions, was also a matter of concern.
Para 58) While the United Nations country team welcomed the Employment Act, which provided equal pay for equal work, it regretted that women’s participation and representation in politics and positions of influence remained a major challenge. In particular, the country team indicated that women’s representation in parliament still failed to meet the target of 30 per cent as provided for in the Constitution.
Para 59) The United Nations country team ... regretted the lack of resources for their full implementation. In particular, the country team noted that the Department of Gender and Family Issues remained challenged in terms of human resources and financial resources, and weak coordination of gender issues in the country.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 9) JS2 noted that Eswatini operated a dual legal system with a component on not codified patriarchal systems of traditional norms, which was often in conflict with common law, the constitution and human rights standards, and had resulted in conflicts leading to numerous violations of rights, in particular, women's rights.
Para 58) HRW was concerned at the high rates of gender-based violence and that women and girls, especially those living in rural areas under traditional leaders and governed by highly patriarchal Swazi law and custom, were often subjected to discrimination and harmful practices such as the “inhlanti” and “kwendzisa”, and “kungenwa”. According to some stakeholders, married women remain “perpetual minors” and are subject to their husbands, who make key decisions for them as their “guardians.” Young women are forced to take part in highly-stereotyped cultural activities and may be punished or fined by traditional leaders if they resist.
Para 63) While noticing that Eswatini had progress in combatting child marriages and as a result it had one of the lowest rates of child marriages in Africa, ECLJ was concerned that this practice was still high in certain parts of the country such as Lubombo and Hhohho.

National Report:
Para 71) Eswatini received approximately US $146,580,000 in Overseas Development Assistance in 201720. The health sector has been the largest beneficiary of external assistance; the HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics have received a significant response from global development partners and donors. Despite economic challenges, the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini domestic expenditure in health has risen from $133,009,265 expended in 2017/2018 to the budgeted level of $146,433,314 in 2018/2019. The domestic expenditure on HIV has increased from $23,807,009 spent for the 2017/2018 financial year to $25,438,673 in 2018/2019. ARV purchasing expenses alone accounted for nearly $19,799,308 in expenditure in 2017/2018, and the budget for this increased to over $21,111,037 for 2018/2019.

UN Compilation:
Para 12) … The United Nations country team regretted that Eswatini intended to maintain the law criminalizing same-sex relations.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 16) AI, JS3 and JS7 stated that LGBTI persons faced stigma and discrimination in Eswatini, and that same-sex relations were criminalized.