ABSTRACT
Swaziland’s deliberate adoption of traditionalism and cultural conservatism create attitudes and beliefs which seem to reinforce an ingrained patriarchy, gender discrimination, and the oppression of women and children and other vulnerable groups. It is therefore no surprise that human rights activists and health practitioners often view tradition as a major obstacle in achieving health, gender equality, and social justice outcomes. However, acknowledging the central role tradition and cultural identity play in the lives of many Swazis, and especially Swazi men, also affords behavior change programmers an opportunity to align behavior change objectives with the more positive aspects of tradition.
This chapter examines ways in which southern African traditional identities and tenets can be used to promote gender-sensitive masculinities and a pro-feminist agenda within the region. Using the small Kingdom of Swaziland as a case study, this chapter will explore how such cultural observations inform notions of Swazi masculinity and the efforts of one civil society organization, Kwakha Indvodza (meaning “Building a Man” in siSwati), to work within, rather than in opposition to, Swazi culture and tradition. The chapter presents and reflects upon Kwakha Indvodza’s best-practice programs which challenge harmful notions of masculinity in men and boys by combining elements of traditional Bantu and Swazi culture with modern social behavior change and biomedical techniques.
