Mbabane, Swaziland
The king of Swaziland has unexpectedly lifted his ban on girls under 18 having sex. King Mswati III, the country’s absolute monarch, imposed the ban in 2001 in response to the huge rise in AIDS cases in the tiny, landlocked kingdom. Almost half of the population of a little over a million has been infected by HIV. But the king himself was accused of flouting the ban after he took a 17-year-old to be his ninth wife. Hundreds of young women protested outside one of his royal residences and threw down the tassels they were required to wear as marks of their virginity. The king paid the penalty decreed for defying the ban in traditional style by surrendering a cow, which the protesters promptly roasted and ate.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Mickey 17: 'charming space oddity' that's a 'sparky one-off'The Week Recommends 'Remarkable' Robert Pattinson stars in Bong Joon-ho's sci-fi comedy
-
EastEnders at 40: are soaps still relevant?Talking Point Albert Square's residents are celebrating, but falling viewer figures have fans worried the soap bubble has burst
-
What will the thaw in Russia-US relations cost Europe?Today's Big Question US determination to strike a deal with Russia over Ukraine means Europe faces 'betrayal by a long-term ally'
