Traditional Practices and Human Rights: An Insight on a Traditional Practice in Inchanga Village of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

After falling into absolute dereliction in the Zulu community, the traditional practice of virginity inspection made a retaliation some 10 years ago, after the country’s first democratic elections. This study investigates the perceptions and experiences of virginity inspection of female adolescents in Inchanga village, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A focus group interview was conducted with 10 Zulu maidens for qualitative data collection. Proponents of virginity inspection believe that virginity inspection is a traditional practice that can assist in reducing HIV infection and teenage pregnancy among the youth, and in the detection of children who are sexually abused by adults. Opponents of virginity testing, such as several human rights groups in South Africa, as well as the South African Human Rights Commission of virginity inspection, strongly believe that the practice of virginity inspection interferes with human rights and constitutional prescripts that protect the rights to equality, privacy, bodily integrity, and sexual autonomy of young women. The study found that the participants have only positive experiences of the practice of virginity inspection, and the only negative experiences they encounter are negative responses from community members who do not support the practice. The findings also confirmed that virginity inspection is being done irrespective of different opinions from different scholars and experts on the subject, and most of the time, the age of the children is not considered.