Participation of Swazi women in the traditional public sphere, Sibaya, in the Kingdom of Swaziland

Abstract

The Kingdom of Swaziland has continued to use the cattle byre, Sibaya, for deliberations onissues of national importance. This deliberative public sphere is convened once in a while todiscuss pertinent issues relating to the well-being of the Swazi nation. It is a public spherethat used to be the preserve of men but has since been opened up to accommodate women.Despite their participation, women still have to follow certain laid down rules to make their oralsubmissions in this space. In 2016, the King of Swaziland convened the Sibaya for seven daysand thousands of citizens attended to make oral submissions on social, political, economic andcultural issues. This article focuses on the representations made by women during the 2016meeting and their perception about this space. Qualitative content analysis was used to analysethe data on submissions, which were monitored on national television and recorded. Interviewswere also conducted with some participants to find out how they feel about this space. Groundedon Fraser’s concept of the counter public sphere, the study reveals that interlocutors feel that thisis a restrictive and intimidating space that is and that there are too many rules that discriminateagainst the free participation of women. Thorny issues raised by women pertained to education(primary, secondary and tertiary), the welfare of widows, chieftaincy disputes, access to land,provision of water and electricity and gender-based violence, among others.