Compiled by Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com February 2012 Introduction Off to a bad start: “Very little information is available on same-sex couples in Swaziland and no gay organizations are involved in the government anti-HIV campaign. The Gays and Lesbians Association of Swaziland (GALESWA), formed in the 1990s, has only one known member. The constitution does not
By tradition, the king reigns along with his mother or a ritual substitute, the Ndlovukati (lit. She-Elephant). Political activities, especially by pro-democracy movements, are suppressed. In 2001 King Mswati III appointed a committee to draft a new constitution which was strongly criticized by civil society organizations in Swaziland and human rights organizations elsewhere. In 2005, the constitution was put into effect amid much debate. From the early seventies, there was active resistance to the royal hegemony.
Swaziland’s economy is dominated by services industry, agriculture and subsistence farming. Growth has been hampered by the effects of HIV and AIDS, the prevalence of which is the highest in the world at 38.8%.
On April 2018, the official name was changed from Kingdom of Swaziland to Kingdom of Eswatini
In Swaziland male same-sex sexual acts are illegal although as of May 2008 the legal status of female same-sex sexual acts was unclear according to the International Lesbian and Gay Association‘s 2008 “State sponsored homophobia” report. According to the Prime Minister homosexuality is an “abnormality and sickness”. According to Swazi tradition however, two women can lawfully marry.
Name: Swaziland (Eswatini)
Population: 1200000
Capital: Lobamba - Pop. 6000
Area: 17364 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: English, SiSwati
Religion: Christianity
Status of Homosexuality: Male illegal, female uncertain
Telephone Country Code: 268