Young girls partly to blame for increased defilement cases
YOUNG girls are partly to blame for an increase in defilement cases in the Eastern province, says Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) provincial coordinator Dorothy Ndhlovu
Ms Ndhlovu said various wayward traditional practices and suggestive behaviour also contributed to the vice hence the need to create a safe place for the young girls during and after initiation traditional ceremonies, free from external influences such as sex. She said failure in dealing with the problem at hand, the province would continue posting high statistics in child defilement and early marriage-related cases. “As YWCA we are equally concerned, but we need to look at some of the negative traditional and social practices that our young girls are taught.
“When they reach puberty, they go through initiation and are taught everything. Unfortunately, they become very provocative and seductive and so, let us not just put the blame on men alone,” Ms. Ndhlovu said.
She said it was very important that people accepted and realized where the problem was instead of always looking at it from a biased point of view against men as doing so was the only way that an effective remedial measure would be devised.
“We have men in our problem statement as major culprits. But at the same time we also need to appreciate the need to desist from some of these outdated curriculum that our young girls are taught. One can tell, because when they come out of the houses they become very provocative and suggestive to men.” According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Eastern recorded 73 defilement cases in the first quarter of 2018. And in the recent past some prominent cases recorded in Eastern provinces comprises, two traditional dancers in Chief Chanje’s area who defiled two minors, a 23 years old Malawian immigrant who defiled a 13 year old girl of Mphomwa village in Mambwe district.
Bwanuka ward councillor of Chadiza, Paul Zulu has been on the run for more than a month, after allegedly defiling a 14-year old girl from Jungu Jan village while Francis Zulu, 28, teacher at Mwangazi primary school, was arrested for defiling a grade 7 pupil in a toilet.