The Commission for Gender Equality recently made a presentation to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive Council on the findings of its investigation into ukuthwala and underage marriages in KwaZulu-Natal. One of the resolutions taken by the Provincial Executive was that the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) together with the Commission should initiate a dialogue with amaKhosi and other stakeholders to deliberate on the harmful manner in which this custom is being practiced, contrary to tradition.
Equally, the Commission is concerned at the incidence of under-age arranged marriages within certain religious communities, in terms of which girls below the permissible age of 18, are either engaged to be married by their parents, or actually married, in contravention of the law. As a result of such practice within traditional and religious communities, girls below the age of 18 are either abducted, committed or forced into marriage, in violation of their Constitutional rights and South African legislation, with disastrous impact on their education, health and emotional well-being.
Accordingly, the Commission and COGTA KwaZulu-Natal have planned for and are convening a one day dialogue, the purpose of the dialogue is to create a platform for structured and informed debates on the customs of ukuthwala, and the practice of forced, arranged and under-age marriages within traditional and religious communities, and their relevance in the Province within the context of a Constitutional democracy. This will assist in securing traditional and religious leaders as champions in eradicating these practices, and establishing appropriate reporting, response and awareness interventions to this end.
The theme for the dialogue is as follows:
“The practice of forced, arranged and underage marriages in a post democratic, Constitutional South Africa”
You are accordingly invited to attend and participate in this dialogue. A draft programme is attached for your consideration. Details are as follows:
Date: Thursday, 28 November 2013
Time: 08:30
Venue: Durban Spa Conference Centre, 57 Marine Parade, Durban
Kindly confirm your attendance with Ms Dumo Ngcobo at the Commission, on dumo@cge.org.za; or on 031-305-2105
