Leadership and gender in Eswatini: Swati politics through the prism of Gelane Simelane Zwane, 1990–2018

ABSTRACT

This article examines the history of female leadership in contemporary Eswatini politics through the prism of Gelane Simelane Zwane as a neglected aspect of scholarship. Gelane Simelane Zwane doubled as the longest-serving female Chief of Kontshingila village and Senate President of Eswatini in recent history. This article is premised on the fact that Zwane’s leadership odyssey was shaped by the intersection of gender and culture. A qualitative methodology, involving the use of newspapers, court documents, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, was employed in this study. The study reveals that, within the context of a patriarchal society, Zwane was able to shatter the ‘glass ceiling’ and attain political prominence in Eswatini. Consequently, she became an easy target for attacks in her enviable leadership positions that were traditionally occupied by males. She successfully navigated the slippery patriarchal terrain for decades until she was finally neutralised in a labyrinth of intractable Eswatini culture and tradition following the death of her husband in 2018.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender politics
• Gelane Simelane Zwane
• patriarchy
• ‘glass ceiling’
• ‘glass cliff’

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 For more on the usefulness of newspapers, see Allen and Sieczkiewicz (2010).

2 EmaSwati in siSwati means the people of Eswatini, just as the people of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabe.

3 For more on these developments, see Manning (2005).

4 Eswatini’s independence constitution was repealed in 1973 and the country remained without a constitution until 2005 (see Dlamini 2019, Chap. 7).

5 Nollywood has several movies which show politicians engaged in black magic to eliminate their rivals. Each time elections are about to take place in Eswatini, the media is replete with stories of missing children, probably kidnapped by politicians for rituals to enable them to win elections.

6 These provisions are contained in the 1968 and 2005 Eswatini Constitutions. Senate membership must not exceed 31. The King of Eswatini appoints 20, while the remaining 10 are elected by the House of Assembly. Of these, at least eight of the 20 and at least five of the 10 must be women. In 2013, there were only 10 women in Senate (Simelane 2013).

7 Prime Minister B. S. Dlamini had the habit of referring to Zwane in the media as ‘this woman’, ‘I am sorry for this woman’ and so on. He would hardly ever refer to her as the ‘honorable member of Senate’ or ‘the Senate President’ (see, for instance, Khumalo 2016).

8 This belief is constructed on the myth that the ghost of a woman’s late husband hovers over her for a long time and would impact negatively on Swazi dignitaries.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hlengiwe Portia Dlamini

Hlengiwe Portia Dlamini obtained her PhD from the University of Pretoria in 2016. Her BA and MA were obtained from the University of Swaziland. Her research focus is on the constitutional history and governance of public spaces in Eswatini. She is also exploring the constitutionality of women enfranchisement and disenfranchisement in Eswatini from an historical perspective.