Tag: definitions of custom

Documentary on Ukuthwala raises important questions

“Ukuthwala: Stolen Innocence” (watch below) is a 2011 documentary produced by the World AIDS campaign and directed by Fiona Summers and Damien Steward. The documentary focuses on ukuthwala, a practice where girls and women often are abducted and forced into marriage. Historian Elizabeth Thornberry notes that “men who have committed these abductions defend them as …

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Jezile Appeal Highlights Difficult Questions About Ukuthwala and Violence*

Are rape and force legitimate parts of custom? When a man raises ukuthwala as a defence to rape, assault and trafficking, what consideration should these assertions be given? The answers to these questions are not simple, and are dependant on what one’s view or definition of culture is.  It is for this reason that the …

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“Ukuthwala”: Even living custom must be developed to comply with Constitution

The cases of ukuthwala that have seized public attention over the last few years involve the violent abduction, and sometimes rape, of girls as young as 12 by older men. In addition to being illegal under criminal law, these abductions have been criticised by some scholars and traditional leaders for distorting the “real custom” of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.customcontested.co.za/ukuthwala-even-living-custom-must-be-developed-to-comply-with-constitution/

Validity of “ukuthwala” depends on definition of custom

Since 2008, a series of cases in which young girls have been abducted and forcibly married to much older men in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal has captured national attention. Journalists and community members have grouped these abductions together under the heading of ukuthwala cases. Men who have committed these abductions defend them as customary, and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.customcontested.co.za/ukuthwala/

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