The impact of culture on the right of women to participate in public affairs : a comparative analysis of Swazi and Buganda Kingdoms

Abstract

"For a long time patriarchial African societies have denied women their rightful place in public life. There are certain cultural practices within these patriarchal societies, which impede the realisation of the human rights of women. Such cultural practices have impacted on the division of power and perpetuated the stereotypical roles of women within those societies. The diminshed status of women in public life does not accord with universal human rights norms and standards. The fact that Swaziland has not ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) makes it difficult for women to vindicate their rights within the United Nations (UN) structures. The right to participate in public affairs is recognised and enshrined as a fundamental human right in both universal and regional human rights instruments. The exercise of this right ensures that citizens, both men and women, have a say in the affairs of the government of their respective countries. The scope of this right includes the right to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections, which shall be by universal and equal suffrage held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors. The deeply patriarchal nature of the two kingdoms presupposes that social, legal and political power is mainly vested in men. With the exception of royal women, "commoner" women are often given inferior roles or none at all in public life. The number of women holding positions in public life in both kingdoms suggests that there is an inherent anomaly in the division of power. ... Chapter two of this study examines the legal and institutional framework regulating the right to participate in public affairs at international and regional level. It does so by identifying the international and regional human rights instrumetns governing the exercise of this rights. The chapter focuses on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) and the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women. It also discusses the role of the treaty bodies established under the ICCPR and CEDAW as well as the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The third chapter examines the provisions of the national constitutions of Uganda and Swaziland, governing the right to participate in public affairs and the enforcement mechanisms created under those constitutions. It also analyses the political set-up in Buganda and Swazi kingdoms including the traditional set-up in Swaziland. Chapter four starts by defining culture and then goes on to explore the debate over the universality of human rights and cultural relativism. Beyond this debate, the chapter proposes a way for finding a common ground between the two theories. It then turns on to focus on cultures and traditional practices impacting on the rights of women to participate in public affairs in the two kingdoms. Chapter five gives a brief exposition of the role of roqyl women in both kingdoms. Here emphasis is on the roles of the queen mothers in both kingdoms, the role of the queen sister in Buganda and the princess of the country in Swazilnad. Finally, chapter six presents the conclusion of the study. This chapter also advances recommendations, which may be useful in assisting other traditional African societies in the full realisation of the right." -- Introduction.