Less than a month before her 13th birthday, Mbali* and her cousin were ambushed by a group of young men as the two girls were coming out of a relative's house. One of them, who was armed with a knife, ...

THE cultural practice of ‘ukuthwala’ is often used to label the abduction, rape or forced marriage of young girls to older men as ‘tradition’. Reports are widely received from local teachers and ...

Just over a decade ago in South Africa, a flurry of media reports surfaced about a customary practice known as ukuthwala. The reports described a rise in ukuthwala characterised by the kidnapping, ...

THE Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (the CRL Rights Commission) yesterday called on ...

Durban - The problem of ukuthwala is so great that last Thursday the KwaZulu-Natal government launched a multi-disciplinary approach in 11 districts of the province to stop the practice. Making it ...

Forced child marriage still exists in South African. Girls are at risk of being forced into marriage, often with older men. This has devastating consequences for their well-being. Ukuthwala is a ...

“Back home in the Eastern Cape, ukuthwala is normal and has always been, so long as one has the means to pay lobola and if the girl’s family consent to have her married,” a man at the Clare Estate ...