Uproar as gender pendulum swings

A group of men took to the streets in protest this week after a number of well-publicised incidents reported attacks by women, but some analysts say the real scare is the changing role of women in society. "Get a wife and hang yourself," read a placard waved by a Swazi man in his thirties at the offices of the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA). "There is a double standard - violence against women gets all the headlines; violence against men is treated as a not serious thing, because SWAGAA has not condemned these acts," said Julius Malambe, one of the men who delivered a petition to the action group's offices. The 17-year-old NGO, located in the commercial hub of Manzini, 35km east of the capital, Mbabane, introduced the subject of violence against women and children in a country where domestic violence had been ignored by police and denied by traditional authorities. SWAGAA offers medical and legal assistance and psychological counselling to victims of abuse, most of whom are women. But a number of recent media accounts of men being victimised by women have sparked anger. One front-page story showed the life-threatening burns of a man who was doused with gasoline and set alight by his daughter-in-law. In another story, a man was arrested by police after his ex-wife falsely accused him of abusing his daughter. "When women are victims, the men are locked up," said political activist Mphandlana Shongwe, who delivered the petition. SWAGAA condemned the petrol attack, both in print and in the electronic media, and SWAGAA's public relations officer, Hlobsile Dlamini, said they were actually delighted that men were now engaged in the subject of domestic violence. Dlamini said the men's petition would be taken seriously and SWAGAA would meet with them for discussions. "In fact, we were thrilled to see them at our door. We have been trying to get men to take this seriously for years. Now they come to us, not as an organisation but just as random men who are alarmed at the way violence is escalating in our homes," Dlamini told IRIN. SWAGAA has begun fundraising for a campaign to raise awareness of domestic violence among men, and the Canadian NGO, Crossroads International, has reportedly agreed to help with financing. Some social analysts felt Swazi men were less concerned about random acts of violence by women against men than the evolution of women's role in society. Women have been guaranteed equal rights since the new constitution was signed by King Mswati, and international observers have praised the gender rights clauses as the constitution's most progressive element. "Swazi men may still legally practice polygamy, and they were brought up in a patriarchal society. Gender rights are seen as a foreign concept imposed on Swazis by white Europeans who wish to emasculate the African man. Not all Swazi men feel this insecure, but many do," said Gloria Ndlovu, a graduate student in sociology at the University of Swaziland. "The cases of violence by women against men you read about in the newspapers are real, but they are also used as symbols by Swazi men. They represent the unleashing of evil, the opening of a Pandora's box, when women step out of their traditional, subservient roles," a psychiatrist at Manzini's National Psychiatric Centre told IRIN. Dlamini agrees: "Times are changing, and men are freaking out. What is important is that the talk is out in the open - we can channel that anger, using education and outreach programmes." The goal is to instil an acceptance that "two wrongs don't make a right", and an understanding that violence and psychological abuse against anyone is unacceptable. "Out of 100 domestic violence cases handled by us, five concern men who have suffered physical or other abuse at the hands of women - 95 percent of cases are women and children who have been victimised by men - but all forms of violence must be condemned and extinguished," Dlamini said.