Amnesty International UK

PRESS RELEASE

EMBARGOED:

01.00hrs Monday 14 March 2010

SWAZILAND MUST REFORM LAWS TO ENSURE EQUALITY FOR WOMEN

Amnesty International UK activists hold vigil at the High Commission of the Kingdom of Swaziland in London to demand rights for Swazi women.

Amnesty International UK activists stood in vigil outside the High Commission of the Kingdom of Swaziland in London on the Centenary of International Women’s Day, Tuesday 8^th March. The vigil was also attended by activists from Action for Southern Africa and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Domestic legislation in Swaziland includes Acts which discriminate against women, while vital laws necessary to protect and promote the rights of women are absent or inadequate. This is despite the fact that Swaziland made international and national commitments to end discrimination against women over five years ago, and has been given practical and financial support from the international community to reform the law.

The current status of the law reduces Swazi women to second-class citizens, and contributes to a situation in which they are disproportionately affected by poverty and HIV.

Amnesty International UK’s Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa, Simon Bennett said:

"The current status of the law in Swaziland is such that many women are put in a vulnerable situation, facing violence and discrimination and having nowhere to turn.

“Each day that passes due to unexplained delays in the process of reforming the relevant domestic laws is another day too long”.

“Amnesty International urges the government of the Kingdom of Swaziland to make public the process and timeline for the completion of a comprehensive law reform process to ensure that Swazi women do not continue to encounter obstacles to the enjoyment of their human rights.”

For further information, see: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR55/007/2010/en

ENDS

Amnesty International UK media information:

Niall Couper: 020 7033 6414, niall.couper@amnesty.org.uk

Harriet Garland: 020 7033 1549, harriet.garland@amnesty.org.uk

Out of hours: 07721 398984, www.amnesty.org.uk

Simon Bennett is the Amnesty International UK Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa and is currently reading for an MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London.  Please visit the AIUK Southern Africa Team's web page at http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10474