Harare | Sunday
ABOUT 2 000 young women in eastern Zimbabwe who passed ”virginity tests” this weekend were told that tribal authorities in the area would from now regard any attempt by a man to touch a woman above her wrist as rape.
Chief Makoni told the women to scream if any men’s hands wandered beyond their wrists, the state-controlled Sunday Mail reported.
The women, between the ages of 12 and 25, in the Makoni area about 170km east of Harare, were examined by nurses, women elders and tribal princesses, as part of the chief’s attempts to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.
Those who were found to be virgins were given certificates and invited to a party. Non-virgins were counselled against the dangers of infection through pre- and extra-marital sex.
The newspaper did not say how many had failed the test.
Chief Makoni said sex education in schools and the distribution of free condoms served only to encourage promiscuity.
”Guns are only given to soldiers,” he said.
”Our children do not need condoms. They need education. Let us stop condom distribution to our children, this way we will win.”
Zimbabwe has the second highest rate of HIV/Aids infection in the world, with more than one in four adults estimated to be infected.
Makoni, on one of the country’s busiest transport routes, is one of the worst infected areas in the country because of the large numbers of prostitutes who offer their services to passing truck drivers.
Surveys in the area showed that nearly half of all women attending maternity clinics were HIV-positive. – Sapa