Ukuthwala
A contested custom of seizing a young woman to force a marriage, which is a crime in South Africa.
Also: thwala
Ukuthwala is a Nguni term for a practice in which a man, with or without the agreement of the woman, carries her off to start marriage negotiations with her family. Defenders have described an old form that was staged by consenting young couples to avoid high lobola, but in recent decades it has often meant abduction and the forced marriage of girls. South African courts and the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, along with the Children's Act, treat forced and child marriage as crimes. It is a human-rights concern and not a custom to admire.
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa