Deputy Prime Minister Constance Simelane |
MBABANE, 30 Oct 2006 (IRIN) - Swazi gender rights groups have
welcomed the appointment of a woman to the post of deputy prime minister in a
country that only this year granted women equal rights under the
constitution.
"I think it is about time we had capable women in that
position," said Lomcebo Dlamini, director of the Swaziland branch of the
non-governmental organisation, Women in Law in Southern Africa. Constance
Simelane, who served as education minister, succeeds Albert Shabangu, who died
last month, as deputy premier.
Until the adoption of the new constitution
at the beginning of the year, women in the kingdom were regarded as minors under
the law – unable to own property or open a bank account without the permission
of a male relative or husband. The traditionally low status of women has been
linked to the staggering levels of HIV infection: 40 percent of adult Swazis are
estimated to be HIV positive, the highest rate in the world.
However, the
deputy prime minister's role became largely ceremonial this year after
responsibility for the national development authority was shorn from the
portfolio and handed to a new ministry, Regional Development and Youth Affairs.
The Prime Minister's post itself has so far been reserved for men who share the
royal family's Dlamini surname
A phone survey conducted by the Times of
Swaziland, the country's only independent newspaper, noted that despite the
appointment, traditional views about the role of women prevail in Swaziland's
deeply patriarchal society. "We are giving too much power to women. They don’t
cover their heads even inside Parliament. What's left for us but to get a female
monarch?", complained one respondent.
Much has also been written about
Simelane's past performance as education minister. One glaring failure was the
government’s stated commitment to educate orphans and vulnerable children. Free
school textbooks were provided for the first time this year to in an attempt to
lower school costs to caregivers and parents, but a lack of policy on school
fees made the gesture meaningless.
"As long as this country is ruled
under the present system we will continue to have such appointments," said one
respondent to the Times of Swaziland survey. "Constance has failed the education
ministry."
Simelane's appointment was part of a reshuffle announced last
week by Prime Minister Dlamini, who used the occasion to attack the
international media for undermining Swaziland's image. He named House Speaker
S'gayoyo Magongo as the country's new Minister of Information to counter the
perceived negative publicity.
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