The Truth About Swazi King's Alleged Tests Of Virgins

A story about an old tradition in Swaziland where a king chooses a new bride every year by publicly testing topless under-aged girls has stirred dust and counter claims. It is high time to debunk one more viral news.

King Mswat III is said to have publicly tested the virginity of young maidens before picking a wife. Photo: Reuters

According to allafrica.com, a Nigerian website falsely claimed that girls and young women in Swaziland were forced to undergo public virginity tests before King Mswati III decides whether to take them as his wifes.

Teenage girls were said to be tested publicly

The report is said to have brought widespread condemnation from opponents and supporters of the king alike.

King Mswat III

Allafrica.com said that pulse.ng published disturbing pictures on August 4. The captions said young ladies were undergoing virginity tests before the king chooses a bride.
“Although the pictures do show such tests, they do not show Swazi women. The photographs had previously appeared on a Malaysian-based website in 2009. They were used to illustrate a report saying ‘thousands of girls’ in South Africa ‘were queueing up each month to prove that they are virgins’.”
Further research on the web shows the pictures might date from before 2009, possible as early as 2001.

Thousands of girls were said to have come of for the ceremony

The pictures used by online media put King Mswati in bad light. One photograph was captioned: ‘Under aged girls publicly undergoing virginity tests before King Mswati can choose a bride.’

“Fact checking is a must, especially when writing on sensitive issues,” an online expert from allafrica.com said.

The controversial report concluded: “Many consider this barbaric and backward but it seems to be a tradition the people willingly live by.”
The publication of the distorted fact caused a fury on social media, as many of the writers were not supporters of King Mswati, who rules Swaziland as the sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.