Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal mayor awarding bursaries to young women on condition they remain virgins, says she is not losing sleep over criticism, and insists the intention is to “emancipate young girls through education”.
The uThukela District Municipality (Ladysmith) awarded bursaries earlier this month for tertiary studies to 150 academically deserving pupils. Of these, 16 were awarded to virgins in a new category established by mayor, Dudu Mazibuko.
Speaking to the Daily News on Sunday, Mazibuko said these girls were part of maiden groups and had already undergone testing.
“We are not asking or forcing them to do anything they were not already doing. The bursary is just to motivate them to keep chaste at least for the three or four years they are at university, so that when they eventually do decide to be sexually active, they are their own person ... and not forced by circumstances.”
Municipal bursaries come with conditions, others are limited to certain courses while others require that once qualified, recipients work for the municipality for a period.
The maidens’ bursary requires students to provide the municipality with their virginity certificates, which they receive from their maiden group when tested.
Mazibuko said the conditions applied as they did with all other bursaries.
However, gender activist and JL (John Langalibalele) Dube chairwoman in rural education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Professor Lebo Moletsane, said this was misguided.
“The mayor may be coming from a good place, but linking girls’ bodies to financial reward is enslavement. It takes away their constitutional right to make decisions about their own bodies.”
Moletsane said taking away a bursary in the event a girl was no longer a virgin was ludicrous.
“The worst case scenario is the question of violence and rape, what happens in those extreme situations?
“Of course we applaud efforts to educate girls, but attaching such a condition and subjecting them to testing is plain wrong on all accounts. Whether you look at it from a gender equality, individual rights, body autonomy, privacy and so on, it’s just plain wrong. I cannot believe that we are still talking about it in 2016,” Moletsane said.
Despite criticism, Mazibuko was resolute that she would “not compromise on this one”.
“I am glad that this has sparked a debate,” she said.
On this, Mazibuko and Moletsane saw eye-to-eye.
“We are missing a larger discussion, girls don’t get themselves pregnant or infect themselves with HIV, we need to get boys and men involved in a larger discussion about sexual and reproductive health and rights,” Moletsane said.
Mazibuko said the girls went for testing voluntarily with or without the bursary.
“I really wish those against this can come here and see how excited these girls are, and how proud they are of their chastity. Women, girls especially, are still vulnerable in so many ways.
“The best way to arm them is with education – that is what we are doing. You educate a girl, you educate a nation. How many will criticise when these girls have graduated and are contributing to society, living healthy lives?” asked Mazibuko.
She challenged critics to “come down to the community”, where the devastating impact of teenage, unwanted or unplanned pregnancies, HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases, including poverty, were an everyday reality.
Having started her career as a teacher, she said it broke her heart when the potential of a girl was never realised because of the consequences of sexual activity.
Mazibuko said critics should ask themselves what they were doing to give girls the confidence to say no to sex, and the adverse effects it often came with.
“These bursaries were not a reward, but a lifelong investment in the life of a girl.”
A 19-year-old University of Zululand recipient of the bursary said those who criticised it were not in her shoes. “At the end of the day it is my decision and I am living with it.”
She joined a group of maidens when she was just eight, attracted by the sisterhood, games, music and dance.
“Even then I had a clear picture that my virginity was my pride, but as I got older and saw the consequences of being sexually active, I knew that was not the path I wanted to take in life,” she said.
She endured being teased for being “behind” and not “with things”, but watched as schoolmates dropped out after falling pregnant.
“When a boy and girl make a baby he carries on with his life, but hers is stunted. With support, some can still make something of themselves, but in most cases, the girl never goes back to school.
“That means her life, her child’s and her family’s don’t improve,” said the student.
She looked forward to completing her studies as a virgin, motivating others with what she said she knew would be her success story.
Looking up to people like this student is a 17-year-old who is part of the group.
“People think this is a rural thing, but I go to a (former) Model C where these things are not understood or even spoken about.”
Shunned by her peers, she said she stood by her decision, choosing to join a group and undergo testing to hold herself accountable.
“As young women, we are faced with so much pressure from boys and friends. I could easily decide to stay a virgin and not go for testing, but I benefit a lot from the camps we attend.”
At these camps, community health worker Dudu Zwane teaches them about sexual and reproductive health and other life skills.
“When I started Reach for a Goal Youth Group, it was the girls themselves who pointed out how STIs, HIV and pregnancy stopped their peers from reaching goals,” Zwane said.
As a trained nurse, she spoke to them about HIV prevention, and virginity testing was born out of “their own desire” to abstain from sex.
“It was demotivating for them that peers who got pregnant were rewarded with social grants, whereas they were recognised only by the King (Goodwill Zwelithini) when they went to Umkhosi Womhlanga (the reed dance).”
She believed groups like hers not only gave girls the psychological and emotional strength to say no to sex until they were ready, but also a sense of pride which spilled over into other areas of their lives.
A 19-year-old University of Zululand recipient of the bursary said those who criticised it were not in her shoes. “At the end of the day it is my decision and I am living with it.”
Daily News