Nolichwa is King?s Tenth, The Times of Swaziland

The father is viewed by the media as the rightful authority to speak on the cultural issue of his daughter becoming the king’s new wife. But he has nothing to say other than that he and his family were not informed that Nolichwa had been chosen as a wife for the King. He is described as being ‘shocked’, ‘bewildered’, and is portrayed as a man who has no power to do anything.

Missing angle

The story is a good example of the media’s belief that culture and tradition are untouchable subjects and should not be criticised. No attempt is made by the journalist to question how the young girl was taken from her family, even though the father expresses a concern at what has happened.

The gender and human rights perspective are missing. The article illustrates how the social rules of the Swazi culture and tradition ensure that Nolichwa and her father both conform to their gender roles as prescribed by Swazi culture. Neither can challenge the male-dominated order headed by the King. The gender power relations between Nolichwa, her father and a man in a position of power are not explored, nor questioned in the article.

In Swaziland, where women are considered minors under the law, the story should have questioned whether the parents’ and young girl’s rights had been violated. Her right to education has ended; and her right to choose whom and when to marry also has been taken away by the cultural tradition.

The human rights perspective to this story could have been obtained through the voice of civil society, gender and feminists activists groups, other fathers and mothers willing to comment on how they would feel if their daughters were taken away, religious leaders, etc.

Training exercises

Exercise one: Discuss gender and culture, and how the media covers culture and tradition.

1. Define culture and patriarchy.
    

2. How are culture and patriarchy linked?
    

1. Who speaks in this story?
    

2. Who does not speak?
    

3. Why do you think the father, and not the mother, speaks in this story?
    

4. How is the father portrayed in the story?
    

5. How is the mother portrayed?
    

6. How is Nolichwa depicted?
    

7. How could this story be written as a gender-aware article? List the angle and information needed to change the story from gender blind to gender aware.