Africa is the second largest continent in the world and the second largest population. Its area and population are second only to Asia, with a total of more than 60 countries and regions. The Kingdom of Aishvatini (formerly "King of Swaziland", for the convenience of reading, the following text is still called " Swaziland ") is located in southeast Africa and is a landlocked country. It is surrounded by South Africa on the north, west and south sides. It is adjacent to Mozambique in the east. It has a land area of about 17,363 square kilometers and a total population of about 1.39 million.
To help everyone understand this small country with very limited influence in the international community, this article mainly introduces it in the form of "keywords".
The first keyword "AIDS".
There are two world-famous specialties in Africa, one is diamond and the other is AIDS. When it comes to diamonds, people must think of South Africa, but when it comes to AIDS, Swaziland is definitely the absolute representative. Swaziland has the highest HIV infection rate in the world, with more than one-third of its citizens infected with AIDS. Therefore, Swaziland has also become the country with the shortest life expectancy (about 35 years old).
Faced with such a severe situation, King of Swaziland Mswati III introduced a policy to reward virgins, encouraging domestic virgins to not have sex with others casually, aiming to control the high HIV infection rate, but it did not achieve good results.
The second keyword " monarchical ".
Swaziland is one of the few countries in the world that pursue an absolute monarchy. The current king is Mswati III (formerly known as Makosetivi, which means "the Lord of all nations" in Swazi language). In Swaziland, the monarch is the embodiment of the lion god on earth, not only the supreme ruler of the secular world, but also the supreme spiritual leader of the country.
Mswati III went to Britain for education. After returning to the country and ascended the throne, he brought some "democracy" to this feudal backward country, such as restoring the parliament that was disbanded by his father, establishing the unique "democratic system" of Swaziland, promoting the new constitution, stipulating judicial independence, protecting human rights and freedom of speech, and association, but it did not fundamentally touch on the lifting of the party ban and the king's absolute power over judicial, administrative, and parliamentary affairs, and established his own absolute rule.
Mswati III is definitely not a "wise ruler". He is romantic by nature and continues the "fine tradition" of his father Sobuza II's wives and concubines. He recruits concubines through the annual Reed Festival and various means. He has provided for more than ten wives and more than 30 children. He was extravagant and ignored people's livelihood. With one-third of people suffering from AIDS and one-third facing the threat of hunger, he built a palace worth tens of millions of dollars for the queen and the bride-to-be. He owned several world-class luxury cars. He once sold more than a thousand cows to buy a luxury bulletproof car and tried to spend about $45 million to buy a helicopter.
The third keyword "reed festival".
Reed Festival, also known as Reed Dance Festival, is the most prestigious and grand festival in Swaziland, attracting many tourists from all over the world to visit every year. The Reed Festival is usually held in August and originated from the Adult Day of a girl. It is called the "Reed Festival" because the girl who participated in the festival entered the venue wearing a colorful short skirt and holding a bunch of reeds. According to custom, all girls participating in the Reed Festival must be unmarried virgins. Since 1999, the Reed Festival has also become a grand ceremony for King Mswati III's selection of concubines. Every year he can choose a girl he likes to be his princess.
