| Part of the LGBT rights series | ||
Recognized
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Civil unions and registered partnerships | ||
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See also
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Notes
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 LGBT portal | ||
Eswatini does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Marriage Act, 1964 does not recognise same-sex unions.
| Part of the LGBT rights series |
| LGBT portal |
Eswatini does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Marriage Act, 1964 does not recognise same-sex unions.
Same-sex sexual relations are outlawed in Eswatini under Roman-Dutch common law. Although the Minister of Justice has repeatedly stated that their policy is not to prosecute consenting adults, [1] discrimination and abuse "severely impact the lives of LGBT people in [Eswatini]". [2] In 2009, activists from the Eswatini AIDS Support Organisation reported that many same-sex couples were forced into opposite-sex "marriages of convenience". "These people cheat on their spouses because they are not allowed to marry partners of the same sex.", said Vusi Matsebula, a spokesperson for the organisation, who argued that "same-sex couples should be legally recognised and become involved in combating the disease." [3]
In 2009, a lesbian couple, Pitseng Vilakati and Thuli Rudd, were publicly engaged in a ceremony held in Manzini. The couple quickly made headlines, attracting significant media coverage. There was a massive public reaction which was "largely hostile, insulting and deeply disrespectful". [4]
Eswatini law does not recognise same-sex marriages. The Marriage Act, 1964 (Swazi : uMtsetfo weMshado, 1964; Act 47 of 1964) does not expressly forbid same-sex marriages and does not contain a definition of marriage. However, it generally refers to married spouses as "bridegroom" and "bride". [5] In addition to civil marriages performed under the act, customary marriages are recognised through traditional unwritten Swazi law, allowing for polygamous marriages in Eswatini. [6] The Constitution of Eswatini does not explicitly address same-sex marriages. Article 27(1) of the Constitution states: [7]
Men and women of marriageable age have a right to marry and found a family.
Human rights attorney Sibusiso Nhlabatsi has argued that the article constitutionally bans same-sex marriage; however, the wording has not been challenged in the courts. [8] Nhlabatsi has called on activists to challenge the laws, "Therefore, the LGBTI community should push for the ammendment of the Constitution so that they are accommodated. After all the constitution guarantees the right to equality, the right to dignity and the freedom of choice or conscience." [8] Article 27(2) of the Constitution further states that: [7]
Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
Civil unions, which would offer a subset of the rights, benefits and obligations of marriage, are also not recognised in Eswatini. In May 2022, a spokesperson for the Communist Party of Swaziland, banned by King Mswati III in 2011 and headquartered in Mpumalanga, South Africa, criticised the government's opposition to LGBT rights. "The fact of the matter is that the Government is relying on colonial laws and colonial morality to deny the LGBTI community their fundamental rights. The laws still discriminate against all groups outside heterosexual relations, marriages of LGBTI people remain banned.", the spokesperson said. They accused the government of "hiding the truth as the progressive Swazi society had long accepted the LGBTI community but it was Mswati's autocracy that was refusing to accept them as human beings." [8]
In 2015, the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church voted by a 64% majority to recognise same-sex marriages, bless the relationships of same-sex couples and allow gay ministers and clergy (who are not required to be celibate). The decision applies to 9 of the 10 synods; with the Namibia Synod being excluded, but it does apply to the Eastern Synod, which includes all of Eswatini. [9] The decision caused backlash and objections, resulting in it being reversed a year later. A dozen church members subsequently took the denomination to court to restore the 2015 decision. In 2019, the North Gauteng High Court reversed the decision, ruling that while religious organizations have the religious freedom to define marriage the 2016 decision was not made in accordance with the church's own proper process. [10] [11] Individual pastors are free to choose whether to bless same-sex marriages; a freedom of conscience clause allows pastors with objections to opt out of performing same-sex weddings.
The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, which has one diocese in Eswatini, does not permit same-sex marriages. Its marriage policies state that "holy matrimony is the lifelong and exclusive union between one man and one woman". In 2016, the synod voted against blessing same-sex unions. The decision split the church, with several dioceses deciding to nonetheless proceed with the blessing of same-sex relationships, notably the Diocese of Saldanha Bay in South Africa. [12] Archbishop Thabo Makgoba expressed disappointment with the decision not to bless same-sex unions, but added that "all is not lost", expressing hope that the matter would be debated again in the future. Former Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane also expressed his disappointment with the decision. [13] In early 2023, the church once again refused to allow its clergy to bless same-sex unions, but directed the synod to develop "guidelines for providing pastoral ministry to those in same-sex relationships". [14] In May 2024, Archbishop Makgoba released a document recommending prayers for same-sex couples, which the synod is expected to discuss in September. [15]
The Catholic Church, which has one diocese in Eswatini, opposes same-sex marriage and does not allow its priests to officiate at such marriages. In December 2023, the Holy See published Fiducia supplicans , a declaration allowing Catholic priests to bless couples who are not considered to be married according to church teaching, including the blessing of same-sex couples. [16] The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, representing bishops in Botswana, South Africa and Eswatini, released a statement saying that "the document offers suggestions for when and how the blessings might be given. The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference will guide further on how such a blessing may be requested and granted to avoid the confusion the document warns against. In the meantime, the suggestions offered by the declaration may be taken as a guide with prudence." [17] [18]
In 2015, the synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa discussed same-sex unions but stated that "a marriage is understood as a union only between a man and a woman. Furthermore the valid and unchanged position of our Church is that the blessing of same sex unions is rejected." [19] In 2020, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa voted to allow members, including ordained clergy, to enter into same-sex unions, while retaining the denomination's teaching that marriage is a union "between a man and a woman". [20] [21]
Eswatini, officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and also known by its former official name Swaziland and formerly the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast. At no more than 200 km (120 mi) north to south and 130 km (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld.
Artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age have been found in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. Later, the population became predominantly Nguni during and after the great Bantu migrations. People speaking languages ancestral to the current Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century. The country now derives its name from a later king named Mswati II. Mswati II was the greatest of the fighting kings of Eswatini, and he greatly extended the area of the country to twice its current size. The people of Eswatini largely belong to a number of clans that can be categorized as Emakhandzambili, Bemdzabu, and Emafikamuva, depending on when and how they settled in Eswatini.
Since the 1990s, the Anglican Communion has struggled with controversy regarding homosexuality in the church. In 1998, the 13th Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops passed a resolution "rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture". However, this is not legally binding. "Like all Lambeth Conference resolutions, it is not legally binding on all provinces of the Communion, including the Church of England, though it commends an essential and persuasive view of the attitude of the Communion." "Anglican national churches in Brazil, South Africa, South India, New Zealand and Canada have taken steps toward approving and celebrating same-sex relationships amid strong resistance among other national churches within the 80 million-member global body. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. has allowed same-sex marriage since 2015, and the Scottish Episcopal Church has allowed same-sex marriage since 2017." In 2017, clergy within the Church of England indicated their inclination towards supporting same-sex marriage by dismissing a bishops' report that explicitly asserted the exclusivity of church weddings to unions between a man and a woman. At General Synod in 2019, the Church of England announced that same-gender couples may remain recognised as married after one spouse experiences a gender transition. In 2023, the Church of England announced that it would authorise "prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God's blessing for same-sex couples."
Mswati III is Ngwenyama (King) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He heads Africa’s last absolute monarchy, as he has veto power over all branches of government and is constitutionally immune from prosecution.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Africa since the Civil Union Act, 2006 came into force on 30 November 2006. The decision of the Constitutional Court in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie on 1 December 2005 extended the common-law definition of marriage to include same-sex spouses—as the Constitution of South Africa guarantees equal protection before the law to all citizens regardless of sexual orientation—and gave Parliament one year to rectify the inequality in the marriage statutes. On 14 November 2006, the National Assembly passed a law allowing same-sex couples to legally solemnise their union 229 to 41, which was subsequently approved by the National Council of Provinces on 28 November in a 36 to 11 vote, and the law came into effect two days later.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Quebec since March 19, 2004 in accordance with a ruling from the Quebec Court of Appeal that the heterosexual definition of marriage violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Quebec was the third Canadian province after Ontario and British Columbia and the fifth jurisdiction in the world to open marriage to same-sex couples.
Same-sex marriage became legal in British Columbia on July 8, 2003, after a series of court rulings which ultimately landed in favour of same-sex couples seeking marriage licences. This made British Columbia the second province in Canada after Ontario, as well as the second jurisdiction in North America and the fourth worldwide, to legalise same-sex marriage.
The blessing or wedding of same-sex marriages and same-sex unions is an issue about which leaders of Christian churches are in ongoing disagreement. Traditionally, Christianity teaches that homosexual acts are sinful and that holy matrimony can only exist between two persons of different sexes. These disagreements are primarily centred on the interpretation of various scripture passages related to homosexuality, sacred tradition, and in some churches on varying understandings of homosexuality in terms of psychology, genetics and other scientific data. While numerous church bodies have widely varying practices and teachings, individual Christians of every major tradition are involved in practical (orthopraxy) discussions about how to respond to the issue.
The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are located in South Africa, and one each in Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Saint Helena.
The Dutch Reformed Church is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Eswatini, and parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. In 2013 it claimed 1.1 million members and 1,602 ordained ministers in 1,158 congregations.
The legal status of same-sex marriage has changed in recent years in numerous jurisdictions around the world. The current trends and consensus of political authorities and religions throughout the world are summarized in this article.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+)-affirming religious groups are religious groups that welcome LGBT people as their members, do not consider homosexuality as a sin or negative, and affirm LGBT rights and relationships. They include entire religious denominations, as well as individual congregations and places of worship. Some groups are mainly composed of non-LGBTQ+ members and they also have specific programs to welcome LGBTQ+ people into them, while other groups are mainly composed of LGBTQ+ members.
The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada. Two of the major events that contributed to the movement were the 2002 decision of the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada to authorise a rite of blessing for same-sex unions, and the nomination of two openly gay priests in 2003 to become bishops. Jeffrey John, an openly gay priest with a long-time partner, was appointed to be the next Bishop of Reading in the Church of England and the General Convention of the Episcopal Church ratified the election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay non-celibate man, as Bishop of New Hampshire. Jeffrey John ultimately declined the appointment due to pressure.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Eswatini have limited legal rights. According to Rock of Hope, a Swati LGBT advocacy group, "there is no legislation recognising LGBTIs or protecting the right to a non-heterosexual orientation and gender identity and as a result [LGBT people] cannot be open about their orientation or gender identity for fear of rejection and discrimination." Homosexuality is illegal in Eswatini, though this law is in practice unenforced. According to the 2021 Human Rights Practices Report from the US Department of State, "there has never been an arrest or prosecution for consensual same-sex conduct."
Thabo Cecil Makgoba KStJ is the South African Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. He had served before as bishop of Grahamstown.
Same-sex unions cannot be legally performed in Namibia. The Supreme Court ruled 4–1 on 16 May 2023 that same-sex marriages concluded outside of Namibia should be recognised for residency purposes. A bill seeking to overturn the ruling has passed the Parliament of Namibia and awaits President Nangolo Mbumba's signature.
Lesotho does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Marriage Act, 1974 does not recognise same-sex unions.
Zimbabwe does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Marriages Act does not recognise same-sex marriage, and civil partnerships are only available to opposite-sex couples. The Constitution of Zimbabwe explicitly prohibits same-sex marriages.
Botswana does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Marriage Act, 2001 does not recognize same-sex unions.
While there are colonial-era common law prohibitions against sodomy, no penalties are specified, and there has never been an arrest or prosecution for consensual same-sex conduct.
Status of same-sex unions around the world | ||
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| Americas | ||
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| Oceania |
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| Antarctica |
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