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S. African mayor awards scholarships to virgin women S. African mayor awards scholarships to virgin women
(about 1 hour later)
JOHANNESBURG — A South African mayor has awarded college scholarships to young women for remaining virgins. JOHANNESBURG — A South African mayor has awarded college scholarships to 16 young women for remaining virgins to encourage others to be “pure and focus on school,” her spokesman said Sunday.
Uthukela Mayor Dudu Mazibuko told South African talk radio station 702 that the young women who applied for the scholarships voluntarily stayed virgins and agreed to have regular virginity tests to keep their funding. The scholarship was introduced this year and has been awarded to young women from the Uthukela district in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, mayoral spokesman Jabulani Mkhonza said. Each year the mayor’s office awards scholarships to more than 100 promising high school and university students from the area, he said.
Spokesman for the mayor’s office Jabulani Mkhonza said Sunday that 16 women have won the grants. The young women who applied for the scholarships voluntarily stayed virgins and agreed to have regular virginity tests to keep their funding, Uthukela Mayor Dudu Mazibuko told South African talk radio station 702.
Mkhonza said Mazibuko introduced the scholarship this year to encourage young women to remain focused on school. Uthukela district in South Africa’s eastern KwaZulu-Natal province awards scholarships to more than 100 promising high school and university students from the area each year. “To us, it’s just to say thank you for keeping yourself and you can still keep yourself for the next three years until you get your degree or certificate,” Mazibuko said.
Chairman for the Commission of Gender Equality Mfanozelwe Shozi criticized the scholarship criteria as discriminatory and said they went “too far.” The grants will be renewed “as long as the child can produce a certificate that she is still a virgin,” she said. The scholarships focus on young women because they are more vulnerable to exploitation, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, she said.
“I think the intentions of the mayor are great but what we don’t agree with is giving bursaries for virginity,” said chairman for the Commission for Gender Equality Mfanozelwe Shozi. “There is an issue around discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, virginity and even against boys. This is going too far.”
Virginity testing is not against South Africa’s constitution but it is essential that it is done with consent, said Shozi.
Some activists have called for the banning of virginity testing in South Africa, describing it as sexist and invasive. Those defending the cultural practice say it preserves tradition and has been modernized to teach girls about their reproductive health and HIV and AIDS.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.