Virginity testing in South Africa: Re-traditioning the postcolony

Umhlanga is a ceremony celebrating virginity. In South Africa, it is practiced, among others, by the Zulu ethnic group who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu Natal. After falling into relative disuse in the Zulu community, the practice of virginity testing made a comeback some 10 years ago at ar...

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Published in:	Culture, health & sexuality health & sexuality, 2006-01, Vol.8 (1), p.17-30
Main Author:	Vincent, Louise
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adolescent Adult African culture African ontology African sexuality AIDS Attitude to Health - ethnology Ceremonial Behavior Ceremonies Child Child Abuse - prevention & control Child Advocacy - legislation & jurisprudence Child molestation Child Welfare - ethnology Child Welfare - legislation & jurisprudence Childrens rights Circumcision Circumcision, Female - ethnology Circumcision, Female - legislation & jurisprudence Circumcision, Male - ethnology Circumcision, Male - legislation & jurisprudence Citizenship Cultural Characteristics Cultural tradition Cultures and civilizations Democracy Ethnic groups. Acculturation. Cultural identity Female Health Policy HIV HIV Infections - prevention & control Humans KwaZulu-Natal Legislation Liberalism Male Male circumcision Post-apartheid society Religious practices Sexual Abstinence - ethnology Sexuality Sociology South Africa Virginity Zulu
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Summary:	Umhlanga is a ceremony celebrating virginity. In South Africa, it is practiced, among others, by the Zulu ethnic group who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu Natal. After falling into relative disuse in the Zulu community, the practice of virginity testing made a comeback some 10 years ago at around the time of the country's first democratic election and coinciding with the period when the HIV pandemic began to take hold. In July 2005 the South African Parliament passed a new Children's Bill which will prohibit virginity testing of children. The Bill has been met with outrage and public protest on the part of Zulu citizens. Traditional circumcision rites are also addressed in the new bill but are not banned. Instead, male children are given the right to refuse to participate in traditional initiation ceremonies which include circumcision. This paper asks why the practice of virginity testing is regarded as so troubling to the new democratic order that the state has chosen to take the heavy-handed route of banning it. The paper further asks why the state's approach to traditional male circumcision has been so different to its approach to virginity testing. Finally, the paper asks what these two challenging cases in the country's new democracy tell us about the nature of liberal democratic citizenship in South Africa 10 years after apartheid's formal demise. Résumé L'umhlanga est une cérémonie qui glorifie la virginité. En Afrique du Sud, elle est pratiquée entre autres par les zoulous, groupe ethnique présent principalement dans la province du Kwazulu Natal. Après un abandon relatif par la communauté zouloue, la pratique du test de virginité a fait un come back il y a environ une dizaine d'années, à peu près au moment des premières élections démocratiques du pays et de l'apparition de l'épidémie de VIH/sida. En juillet 2005, le parlement sud africain a adopté une nouvelle loi de protection des enfants qui interdit les test de virginité. Cette loi s'est heurtée à l'indignation et aux protestations publiques de citoyens zoulous. Les rites traditionnels de la circoncision sont également abordés par la nouvelle loi sans toutefois être interdits. En revanche, les enfants de sexe masculin ont le droit de refuser de participer à des cérémonies rituelles d'initiation, parmi lesquelles la circoncision. Cet article s'interroge sur les raisons pour lesquelles le test de virginité est considéré comme troublant par le nouvel ordre démocratique, au point que l'état a
ISSN:	1369-1058 1464-5351