Share

Mandla Mandela asked to clarify sex talk

Johannesburg - ANC MP Mandla Mandela has been asked to clearly state in the National Assembly that the age of consent for sexual intercourse is 16, three gender rights organisations said on Thursday.

This came after Mandela made comments in July last year regarding the practice of Ukuthwala, the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, the Commission for Gender Equality and the Rural Women's Movement said in a statement.

Ukuthwala is a practice where women, some as a young as 14-years-old, are abducted and forcefully married to older men.

Mandela is a grandson of former president Nelson Mandela.

According to the organisations, Mandela said the process of Ukuthwala had nothing to do with age and depended on whether the girl underwent the intonjane initiation, as arranged by her family.

"That is how culture works," he was quoted as saying at a rural development and land reform Parliamentary portfolio committee meeting.

"When you are going to discuss culture do not even try to bring in white notions as such an approach will turn things upside down," he said.

"Firstly, culture has no age. Age is something we learnt today because of our westernisation."

The three organisations met with Mandela on Thursday to discuss his comments.

Mandela was also asked to acknowledge section 3(1) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act which states that all prospective spouses must be over the age of 18 to enter into a customary marriage, the organisations said.

"On this basis the organisations asked honourable Mandela to also publicly condemn the abduction, kidnapping, assault and rape that currently accompany ukuthwala.

"These are all criminal offences that mitigate consent and are not in accordance with customary negotiations around marriage," they said.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do airplane mishaps have any effect on which airline you book your flights with?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, these things happen. I pick based on price
49% - 993 votes
Yes, my safety matters. I don't take any chances
51% - 1031 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
19.23
-0.6%
Rand - Pound
23.92
-0.6%
Rand - Euro
20.55
-0.5%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.48
-0.7%
Rand - Yen
0.12
-0.4%
Platinum
913.80
-0.7%
Palladium
1,008.50
-1.7%
Gold
2,324.31
+0.1%
Silver
27.24
-0.2%
Brent Crude
88.42
+1.6%
Top 40
68,574
+0.8%
All Share
74,514
+0.7%
Resource 10
60,444
+1.4%
Industrial 25
104,013
+1.2%
Financial 15
15,837
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE