Swaziland

Rights groups in Swaziland are concerned that Swazi women who want to receive government scholarships must prove their loyalty to the Swazi way of life by showing that they subscribe to the maidens' chastity rules called "umcwasho".

A Swazi Transport minister, Titus Mlangeni, has been ordered by a parliamentary select committee to resign following findings by the committee that he received bribes in the sale of a government-owned airline.

A new report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has found that cultural practices intended to safeguard young Swazi women from unwanted pregnancies and HIV infections may actually be contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The UK-based Swaziland Solidarity Campaign (SSC) has called on the Swazi government to stop harassing journalists after receiving reports that some Swazi journalists have been the subject of death threats and intimidation by police.

The Swazi government could be facing a stark choice in coming weeks: it can either publish a democratic constitution or face international isolation. That was the message given to the UK-based Swaziland Solidarity Campaign (SSC) by officials within the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) this week.

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