Swaziland: one of the Queens wants to practice law - Reports From Africa - Sibonelo Mngomezulu - Brief Article

"Swaziland's Queen Sibonelo Mngomezulu describes herself as a modern Swazi woman. The determined 32-year-old has founded a children's charity, has cut two gospel music CDs, and has earned two law degrees. And she now plans to open a law practice.

In this tiny, landlocked mountain kingdom in Southern Africa - where people still approach the royal family on their knees, where women are not allowed to wear pants in public, and where no royal family member in the history of the 300-year-old Dlamini dynasty has ever worked - she's nothing short of radical.

Traditionalists and other royals alarmed at the queen's behavior have launched a campaign against her, warning that they 'will stop her from working like a commoner.' The queen says she simply wants to realize her dream to practice law like her father. Her battle to do so has her breaking new ground not only for the royals, but also for Swazi women...'In Swaziland we believe that god is on top, then man, then the woman,' said Irene Mkhatshawa, 39, who sells hot food from a roadside shack.

This comes at a time when the Swaziland government is drafting a gender policy that will propose the most significant changes in the country's history in legal protections offered to women...

Swazis consider their king, currently King Mswati, as port god. His photo adorns the walls of homes, offices and restaurants. Women still wear capes printed with his image. He and his mother (respectfully called the she-elephant) are absolute rulers. Royal family members control most of the land, fill the important government positions, and are expected to act as role models.

The king's wives - he has nine of them - are supposed to be above such temporal concerns. Their traditional duties include being available to the king whenever he desires, bearing lots of children, and accompanying him on state functions. From the beginning, Mngomezulu, sequestered in a guarded, peach-colored hilltop palace, chafed against these expectations and limitations. Swazi customs and laws have long placed heavy restrictions on women. In both civil and traditional marriages, wives have the legal standing of children. A woman generally needs her husband's permission to borrow money, to open a bank account, to obtain a passport, to leave the country, to own land in rural areas, and, in some cases, to take a job..

'I always wanted to be an attorney,' Mngomezulu said without bitterness. 'I figured I would marry in my mid-twenties after I had established my career.' Dreams of a normal life ended when she was 16 and participated in an annual festival, in which tens of thousands of virgins from across the country dance for the king, who can use the opportunity to choose a new wife. A few months later, she became the king's third wife.

Besides the king, Mngomezulu is perhaps the most visible member of the royal family. She attends soccer matches dressed in her traditional goatskin robe, behive hairdo, and sunglasses. She organizes fund-raisers to help pay sick children's medical expenses, and speaks throughout the countryside teaching women about the benefits of breastfeeding their children.

She says she is a role model. 'If I am a woman and did all this within the confines of the royal family, then other women can do this,' Mngomezulu said. . .Swazis are reluctant to comment on the royal family. But women smile when the queen's name is mentioned, and they describe her in their whispers as a strong woman.

The Swazi Observer newspaper, which is controlled by the royal family, laments that she is a bad cook, parties too much, and is too independent. It criticized her teenage daughter for saying that Swazi girls should not shy away from wearing pants...

Asked about the role of women in Swazi society, the 33-year-old king recently said, 'Women have an important part to play in improving society. They will teach children how to be good. Mothers are important. His advisors are strong traditionalists, fearful that modernization will trigger the end of their days of privilege and the demise of Swazi culture..."