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MBABANE - Umhluma Widows and Youth Foundation has set the record straight about the removal of mourning gowns ahead of the national elections.

The director of the foundation that advocates for widows’ rights, has explained that the call to remove mourning gowns ahead of the national elections had nothing to do with breaching of traditions and customs, but simply giving equal opportunities for all emaSwati, including widowed women.

The Director of the organisation, Lungelo Zulu, said they simply urged for inclusion of women in mourning gowns in the elections. He said they had noted that widows were sidelined during national elections.

Zulu explained that widows, in this context, he meant those who were still wearing mourning gowns.

The director stated that in most communities where the voting stations were in royal kraals, these women’s constitutional right to vote was denied. He explained that Eswatini customs did not allow women in mourning gowns to entre royal kraals.

Elections

He noted that inasmuch as there was a provision given to them during elections year to remove the gowns, but that provision came late because most stages of the elections would have passed.

“That provision is only linked with independence, not even the elections thus the women end up being deprived of the right to vote,” he said.

The director said in some instances, these women were unable to stand for elections or be part of the civic and voter education exercise.

He said that was unfair to the women and it made it look like women participation was only for a selected group of women not all of them. He said the country was still lagging behind on womens’ rights due to poor representation of women in Parliament, let alone widows.

In an effort to fight the plight of widows, Zulu said it was necessary for widows, regardless of the time, to stand for elections.

Independence

He stated that they were hoping that like it happened when it would be around independence every four years, where widows were allowed to take off their morning gowns even if the mourning period had not been completed. Worth noting in some families, is that the mourning gowns by the spouses can be worn up to a year.

Zulu said as an organisation, they were hoping that all widows who had worn their mourning gowns for six months would be allowed to take them off.

He said this would allow them to partake in the elections process from the start. He mentioned that currently, the Elections and Boundaries and Commission (EBC) was conducting civic and voter education exercise and most of it was conducted in royal kraals, of which these women were not participating.

“At least those who wore the gowns more than six months should be allowed to take them off,” he said.