by Sheila Mokoboto-Zwane, University of South Africa, mokobtsb@unisa.ac.za Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies Volume 26 | 1 | 2016 pp. 30–43 Controversy continues to surround the age-old practice of virginity testing, which in South Africa made a visible comeback around the time of the country’s first democratic elections when most South Africans began to feel free to practise their cultural beliefs without fear. It coincided with the period when the HIV pandemic began to take hold. It is practiced mainly in some countries of Asia and Africa, and in South Africa it is practiced mainly among amaZulu. It is believed that this practice prevents unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), especially HIV/AIDS, as well as engendering a sense of pride in teenage and young females, in particular. However, some individuals, organisations and sectors of the community frown upon the practice because it violates constitutional laws that protect the right to equality, privacy, bodily integrity and sexual autonomy. The purpose of this article is to present current discourse on the cultural practice of virginity testing and the controversies surrounding this discourse. This article draws its arguments from the existing literature on virginity testing... For some unknown reason this practice became obsolete, but made a comeback around the time of the country’s first democratic election, coinciding with the period when the HIV pandemic began to take hold (Vincent 2006, 1)... . South Africa is presently experiencing explosive AIDS crises and is among the world’s worst affected countries. In many communities, each virgin is seen as another small victory in South Africa’s battle with a virus that has by some estimates infected approximately 5.5 million of the country’s 48 million people (George 2007)... As a result of this rampant HIV pandemic, virginity testing enjoys the distinction of being among the most popular public health initiatives in South Africa, and is unique in that it promotes a return to traditional culture as a public health prevention measure (George 2007). Nombulelo Madondo, who runs a virginity testing school in Inanda, Durban, in the KwaZulu-Natal province, said her school was opened because of the HIV pandemic. The aim was to protect the young maidens from having sex while they are young. The maidens are proud of being tested every month and they have even stated that virginity testing brings dignity to them and they are respected in the community (Chiliza and Mkhamisa 2013)... In spite of this justification, however, opponents of virginity testing describe it as sexist and out-dated. They argue that it increases the chances of HIV/AIDS because of the widely held misconception that unprotected sex with, or rape of a virgin is safe or can cure AIDS... According to Seale (2011), it is a traditional practice among young amaZulu girls and women to encourage abstinence from sex to protect themselves from HIV/ AIDS and teenage pregnancy... There is evidence of virginity testing taking place in other countries outside South Africa, such as in India, Turkey, Swaziland and Zimbabwe... KwaZuluNatal is home to the Zulu traditional monarchy, which is headed by King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu. The King promotes virginity of girls until marriage (KZN PSP 2012-2016).
