‘Virginity bursary’ mayor sticks to her guns

SHE is in charge of a lesserknown KwaZulu-Natal municipality and on a collision course with the law, but the uThukela district mayor refuses to back down on her crusade to advance the cause of virginity.

In January this year, Dudu Mazibuko unleashed a storm of controversy when she awarded 16 “virginity bursaries” to young women who could prove they were not sexually active. Gender and human rights activists howled in disapproval, lashing out at her Mayoral Matric Excellence Awards.

On Friday, the Commission for Gender Equality released a report castigating the bursaries as unconstitutional and recommended the mayor be sent on a remedial course.

But Mazibuko, who has the blessing of King Goodwill Zwelithini, says the commission can take a hike.

“Virginity testing is a culture that can’t be interpreted and reduced to the actual testing itself. We’re challenging [the report] because it borders on cultural prejudice.” VIRGINITY ADVOCATE: Mayor Dudu Mazibuko

She has the support of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, whose chairwoman, Thoko MkhwanaziXaluva, supports the virgin bursaries.

The gender commission said it welcomed initiatives that encouraged abstinence, but the bursaries were discriminatory, unconstitutional and promoted patriarchy and inequality.

“It goes against the ethos of the constitutional provisions in relation to dignity, equality and discrimination. It . . . violates regional and international commitments to promote gender equality and eradicate harmful traditional practices,” the commission’s report read.

It recommended the bursary be removed as a category for funding and the municipality’s policy be amended. It also wants Mazibuko and councillors to undergo gender training on HIV/Aids, behavioural issues, gender discrimination and gender-based violence.

But Mazibuko said they had consulted extensively.

“I’ve thrown down the gauntlet to other mayors . . . to do something about preserving young girls and carving out their future paths. This bursary is part of that.”

Last week, she received a maiden mayoral award from King Zwelithini for her role in promoting virginity testing.

And it seems that the students and their parents agree.

Nompilo Sikhakhane, 21, a law student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said she did not agree with the commission because “the mayor wanted to groom us for the future”.

Fakazile Madondo, 66, grandmother of Nokwanda Madondo, an education student at the University of the Free State, said: “We’re grateful for this. No one is forced to be a virgin.”