SHEWULA RESIDENTS LIVING IN POVERTY REACT: WE WOULD’VE TAKEN E500 FOR MARRIAGE

SHEWULA – EmaSwati were recently treated to a shock with the news of a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly given away to a man for E500.

The news article was published on August 1, 2024. However, there is something even more shocking in that some of the people who were interviewed around Shewula in the Lubombo Region alleged that they would have also done the same if the E500 had been offered to them. This is according to the residents whose names will not be mentioned, as they feared being ridiculed and victimised. Shewula is under Lomahasha Inkhundla.

Struggling

This, they said, was because poverty was extremely high in the area, and families were struggling to make ends meet as they do not have food. They also noted that unemployment is high in the chiefdom. Drought has also affected the area, rendering farming a huge challenge for the residents. The common means of generating income, some residents said was through working to trim dagga and then getting paid per day. They said this earned them between E70 to E100, depending on the amount of work one did.

Also, another way the Shewula residents make money is through illegally fishing at the Mbuluzi River, risking arrests or attacks by crocodiles.  In 2023, Eswatini News reported about an incident in which a man was eaten by a crocodile while fishing at the river. The man was from Shewula. He reportedly went to Mbuluzi River with another, but did not make it back home.
Meanwhile, according to a report carried out by the Times of Eswatini, the minor was taken away to a safe house by the DPM’s Office. Under the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV Act) 15 of 2018, it is a serious offence for anyone to engage in a relationship of sexual nature with a minor.  The minor was taken to the safe house after authorities realised that she needed some protection and counselling. The place where she is kept has not been mentioned for safety reasons.

Save

It was reported that the mother of the child is said to have accepted the money from the family of the 40-year-old man to kick-start the process of marrying her. The Department of Social Welfare under the Deputy Prime Minister’s (DPM) Office is said to have then acted swiftly to save the girl. On Monday, reporters from Eswatini News visited Shewula to understand the circumstances that could have led to family of the girl accepting the said E500. An attempt was also made to reach out to the mother of the girl, but she was not available at her home. She was later called on her cellphone, but she furiously said she would not comment on the matter. She, however, hinted that she would never sell her daughter.

Residents around Shewula highlighted the level of poverty in the area. They said it appeared as though the remote community has been neglected. They alleged that one challenge at Shewula was that some of the people did not know what crime was. Meanwhile, it is not the first time a story involving females has shocked the nation from Shewula.

Requested

Reached for comment, Mabundi Masilela, Indvuna  of Shewula, said although he had heard about the matter through reports, he did not have details. Instead, he requested that he be given some time to respond in person. Noteworthy, this incident highlights the issue of child marriages, which is still a big issue worldwide. Globally, approximately one in five girls is married before the age of 18. In Niger, the country with the highest rate of child marriages, about 75 per cent of girls marry before they turn 18, with nearly 30 per cent marrying before age 15. This is based on reports from www.statistics.com.

Other countries with high prevalence rates include the Central African Republic, Chad, and Mali, where rates range from 54 per cent to 61 per cent. The reasons given for child marriages include poverty, cultural norms as well as lack of adequate legislation against it. In Eswatini, the prevalence was previously very high, but the enactment of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act 15 of 2018 is said to have helped reduce this.

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