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Recognized |
Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage |
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Notes
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 LGBTQ portal |
Eswatini does not recognisesame-sex marriages orcivil unions. TheMarriage Act, 1964 does not provide for the recognition of same-sex unions.
Same-sex sexual relations are outlawed in Eswatini underRoman-Dutch common law. Although theMinister of Justice has repeatedly stated that their policy is not to prosecute consenting adults,[1]discrimination and abuse "severely impact the lives of LGBT people in [Eswatini]".[2] In 2009, activists from theEswatini AIDS Support Organisation reported that many LGBT people were forced into opposite-sex "marriages of convenience". "These people cheat on their spouses because they are not allowed to marry partners of the same sex", said Vusi Matsebula, a spokesperson for the organisation, who argued that "same-sex couples should be legally recognised and become involved in combating thedisease."[3]
In 2009, a lesbian couple, Pitseng Vilakati and Thuli Rudd, were publicly engaged in a ceremony held inManzini. The couple quickly made headlines, attracting significant media coverage. There was a massive public reaction which was "largely hostile, insulting and deeply disrespectful".[4]
Eswatini law does not recognisesame-sex marriages. TheMarriage Act (Act 47 of 1964;Swazi:uMtsetfo weMshado) does not expressly forbid same-sex marriages and does not contain a definition ofmarriage. However, it generally refers to married spouses as "bridegroom" and "bride".[5] TheConstitution of Eswatini also does not explicitly address same-sex marriages. Article 27(1) of the Constitution states that "[m]en and women of marriageable age have a right to marry and found a family."[6] Human rights attorney Sibusiso Nhlabatsi has argued that the article constitutionally bans same-sex marriage; however, the wording has not been challenged in court.[7] Nhlabatsi has called on activists to challenge the laws, "Therefore, the LGBTI community should push for the amendment of the Constitution so that they are accommodated. After all the constitution guarantees the right to equality, the right to dignity and the freedom of choice or conscience."[7] Article 27(2) of the Constitution further states that:[6]
Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.[a]
Additionally, customary marriages are recognised through traditional unwritten Swazi law, allowing forpolygamous marriages in Eswatini.[8]Civil unions, which would offer some of the rights, benefits and obligations of marriage, are also not recognised in Eswatini. In May 2022, a spokesperson for theCommunist Party of Swaziland, banned by KingMswati III in 2011 and headquartered inMpumalanga,South Africa, criticised the government's opposition toLGBT rights. "The fact of the matter is that the Government is relying on colonial laws and colonial morality to deny the LGBTI community their fundamental rights. The laws still discriminate against all groups outside heterosexual relations, marriages of LGBTI people remain banned", the spokesperson said. They accused the government of "hiding the truth as the progressive Swazi society had long accepted the LGBTI community but it was Mswati's autocracy that was refusing to accept them as human beings."[7]
In 2015, the General Synod of theDutch Reformed Church voted by a 64% majority to recognise same-sex marriages,bless the relationships of same-sex couples and allow gay ministers and clergy (who are not required to becelibate). The decision applies to 9 of the 10 synods; with theNamibia Synod being excluded, but it does apply to the Eastern Synod, which includes all of Eswatini.[9] The decision caused backlash and objections, resulting in it being reversed a year later. A dozen church members subsequently took the denomination to court to restore the 2015 decision. In 2019, the North Gauteng High Court reversed the decision, ruling that while religious organizations have the religious freedom to define marriage the 2016 decision was not made in accordance with the church's own proper process.[10][11] Individual pastors are free to choose whether to bless same-sex marriages; a freedom of conscience clause allows pastors with objections to opt out of performing same-sex weddings.
TheAnglican Church of Southern Africa, which has onediocese in Eswatini, does not permit same-sex marriages. Its marriage policies state that "holy matrimony is the lifelong and exclusive union between one man and one woman". In 2016, thesynod voted against blessing same-sex unions. The decision split the church, with severaldioceses deciding to nonetheless proceed with the blessing of same-sex relationships, notably theDiocese of Saldanha Bay in South Africa.[12] ArchbishopThabo Makgoba expressed disappointment with the decision not to bless same-sex unions, but added that "all is not lost", expressing hope that the matter would be debated again in the future. Former ArchbishopNjongonkulu Ndungane also expressed his disappointment with the decision.[13] In early 2023, the church once again refused to allow its clergy to bless same-sex unions, but directed the synod to develop "guidelines for providing pastoral ministry to those in same-sex relationships".[14] In May 2024, Archbishop Makgoba released a document recommending prayers for same-sex couples,[15] which the synod rejected in September.[16]
TheCatholic Church, which hasone diocese in Eswatini, opposes same-sex marriage and does not allow its priests to officiate at such marriages. In December 2023, theHoly See publishedFiducia supplicans, a declaration allowingCatholic priests tobless couples who are not considered to bemarried according to church teaching, including the blessing of same-sex couples.[17] TheSouthern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, representing bishops in Botswana, South Africa and Eswatini, released a statement saying that "the document offers suggestions for when and how the blessings might be given. The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference will guide further on how such a blessing may be requested and granted to avoid the confusion the document warns against. In the meantime, the suggestions offered by the declaration may be taken as a guide with prudence."[18][19]
In 2015, the synod of theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa discussed same-sex unions but concluded that "a marriage is understood as a union only between a man and a woman. Furthermore the valid and unchanged position of our Church is that the blessing of same sex unions is rejected."[20] In 2020, theMethodist Church of Southern Africa voted to allow members, including ordained clergy, to enter into same-sex unions, while retaining the denomination's teaching that marriage is a union "between a man and a woman".[21][22]
A 2024 survey by The Other Foundation showed that nearly 20% ofSwazi people supported same-sex marriage.[23]
While there are colonial-era common law prohibitions against sodomy, no penalties are specified, and there has never been an arrest or prosecution for consensual same-sex conduct.
