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 ...

Babalwa Ntutu’s* parents thought their prayers had been answered. They were looking forward to spending Christmas Day with their daughter — even if it was at her hospital bedside. But, on Tuesday last ...

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, ...

Johannesburg - A man who practised ukuthwala many years ago is still happily married, a briefing by the Commission for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic ...

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

More than 90,000 South African girls between the ages of 12 and 17 were either married, divorced, separated, widowed or living with a partner as husband and wife in 2016. The latter formed the ...

University of Cape Town provides funding as a partner of The Conversation AFRICA. Ukuthwala is a term in Nguni languages which has various meanings. It can refer to ways (including abduction) of ...

What is marital rape and why should we pay more attention to it? Though marriage rates in southern Africa have decreased over the past decades, marriage is still considered to be an ideal social tool ...

Ukuthwala is a term in Nguni languages which has various meanings. It can refer to ways (including abduction) of making a customary marriage happen quickly. South Africa has a varied cultural make-up, ...