Lilongwe - Malawi human rights bodies and the African Women's Development and Communications Network have described the sentencing of the Malawian "hyena" as "lenient" and "a failure of justice for women and girls in Africa."
Scroll down for video
On Tuesday a local magistrate court gave Eric Aniva, 45, a two-year jail term for conducting "sexual cleansing" on women and girls in the name of culture, exposing them to the risk of HIV infection.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, the human rights organisations called on the High Court of Malawi and the Director of Public Prosecutions to review and appeal the sentence.
"We are shocked and appalled that a man, living with HIV, has for over two decades sexually violated children as young as 12 years of age in an outdated retrogressive culture that is harmful for women and girls and the magistrate saw it fit to only give him 2 years in jail," the statement said, quoting Emma Kaliya, a veteran Malawi Human Rights Activist and Executive Director for Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre.
"What message does this send to all perpetrators of sexual violence hiding behind discriminatory and destructive cultural practices? That you can get away with only two years? This is a disgrace and a big let-down to the women and girls of Malawi. The courts of justice must revoke and reconsider this sentence," she added.
Aniva's arrest and conviction followed an interview he had with the BBC in which he revealed that he had had sex with over 100 women and girls as young as 12.
His case is the first to be tried under the Malawi Gender Equality Act of 2013, which states that the criminal offence of sexual violation attracts a fine of 1 million Malawi kwacha (about US$1,200) or a jail term of a maximum 5 years.
"It is a great disappointment to the test of a new law that should otherwise be stringent enough to fully protect women and children. We are enraged!" the statement said.
The African Women's Development and Communications Network (FEMNET) has also condemned Aniva's sentence. FEMNET'S head of advocacy, Hellen Apila, described Aniva's acts as destructive culture that human rights bodies world over were fighting against, saying the practices endanger and harm women and girls in Africa.
"This particular case presented a great opportunity for the Malawi judicial system to affirm its commitment to justice for women and girls in Malawi but it has failed them," Apila said.
Xinhua