“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 …
Tag: rape
Permanent link to this article: https://www.customcontested.co.za/documentary-ukuthwala-raises-important-questions/
Feb 27 2014
Violent forms of ukuthwala reveal longstanding brutality against women
To understand South Africa’s present condition, in which violence against women and girls is endemic, we must travel back to an unfamiliar past. Digging deep, answers can be unearthed to questions about forms of gendered abuse that unrelentingly flourish today. It is important to do this work, as violence against women cannot be eradicated without …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.customcontested.co.za/violent-forms-ukuthwala-reveal-longstanding-brutality-women/
Aug 05 2013
“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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.customcontested.co.za/ukuthwala-even-living-custom-must-be-developed-to-comply-with-constitution/
Jul 15 2013
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 …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.customcontested.co.za/ukuthwala/
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