Purity Pride boasts 40 virgins
MBABANE – With most young girls today dealing with issues that only their adult selves should be worrying about, a fraction still remains pure.
These include 40 young girls across the country’s four regions, who are working with an organisation known as Purity Pride Eswatini (PPE), the eldest being over 30 years and the youngest being 12 years old.
They pride themselves for being part of the organisation which has played a part in ensuring that they keep their virginity.
This reporter had an interview with regional leaders of the girls who gave testimonials about the life they live. While other girls deal with love relationships that turn sour, teenage pregnancies and sexual abuse, among others, PPE members remain free from all the above.
Shiselweni PPE member, Nokuthula Motsa, said keeping one’s virginity and purity until marriage was now seemingly being frowned upon by most girls who felt it was old fashioned. Motsa, who is 25 years old, insisted that purity was not old fashioned but was a way of valuing oneself and being healthy. “Purity helps one to become peaceful and stress free,” she said.
According to Motsa, being a member of PPE had strengthened her to stick to the decision she made for herself; no sex before marriage. She said there were a number of benefits to be gained from sexual abstinence, which included avoiding unwanted pregnancies and being free from any sexually transmitted diseases among others.
Having seen the organisation’s logo on a friend’s timeline on Facebook, Motsa stated that she became impressed by the motto; ‘Hlala ngentfombi sisi’, loosely translated to mean ‘preserve your virginity young woman’. “I wanted to know from my friend if it was an organisation she was referring to and she immediately gave me a number to call, which belonged to the director of PPE.”
Upon joining PPE, Motsa said she met other young women of her age and others even older but were still living the life of purity.
“The team I am working with in the organisation helped me value myself more because they became a testament to me that even in such a spoilt generation, God still wants us to be pure,” she said.
According to Motsa, the testimonials and teachings they delivered to other young women made her even stronger and eager to continue living the life of purity.
Also commenting was Manzini leader Patience Dlamini, aged 29 years old.
Heartaches
Dlamini noted that heartaches were painful, while pregnancy was burdensome and sexually transmitted infections were real and worse, HIV/AIDs. Dlamini noted that choosing to remain pure could save young girls from all the above. She further reassured young girls and Christians that it was not old fashioned to be pure. “It is true we are living in the 21st century but God is the same and his standards have not changed,” she explained.
Dlamini noted that God still required holiness as He was also holy, adding that what pleased Him still did and what He hated, still he did.
Lubombo Regional leader Wenziwe Zikalala said the organisation had helped her not to be swayed by people who
Wenziwe Zikalala who is the Lubombo Regional leader for Purity Pride Eswatini. wished to remove her on track from the goal of remaining pure. Zikalala said PPE had assisted her by offering her the opportunity to engage with like-minded women of different ages and backgrounds. She said the organisation was far from being old fashioned but created consciousness to be innovative, current and effective while sticking to the basic biblical principles and the Word of God, which remained relevant at all times, be it current or ancient.
Relationships
Director of PPE, Ncamsile Tfwala said one mistake of falling into love relationships by young people who were psychologically ill-prepared, resulted in the destruction of young girls’ self-esteem by abusive lovers.
Tfwala said another sad aspect was for a teenage girl to fall pregnant and be forced to leave the child with her family, resulting in that minor probably growing up in an abusive environment. The director stated that currently, most young girls dealt with issues that only their adult selves should be worrying about. These, she said, included teenage pregnancy, love relationships that turned sour and sexual abuse among others. Such effects, Tfwala noted resulted in a destruction of a young girls’future. “One single mistake of engaging in sexual activity may result in a young girl’s entire life tarnished,” she said.
According to Tfwala, Africans emphasise on the term; ‘hlala ngentfombi’, translated to mean, ‘preserve your virginity.’ She added that an African virgin girl was the pride of the continent and treasure of every African young man who got to marry her.
However, she said the moment girls began to devalue their purity, men started
Shiselweni Regional leader for Purity Pride Eswatini, Nokuthula Motsa. to devalue the worth of women.
Tfwala said women’s worth could be restored and as PPE, they emphasised on the saying; ‘girls take pride in your purity.’
She also mentioned that they were not leaving out those who had already lost their innocence and their words to them were; “young girl, you still have a chance to change your story, you still have a chance to revalue yourself.”
When questioned on whether it was still possible to live a pure life these days, Tfwala said raising God-fearing young people in today’s messy culture was challenging but not impossible because with God, nothing was impossible. According to the director, she had met with many young girls and women who had lost their virginity at a tender age and they regretted it. Mostly, she said the young women stated that they lacked role models and their friends had boyfriends and for that reason, they found themselves in the same predicament. Others stated that they were no longer taught about the importance of purity and how valuable one’s innocence was.
Purity
Others stated that they got into relationships due to peer pressure, adding that awareness on purity should be encouraged at all times.
Tfwala further mentioned that parents in the rural areas were still not comfortable discussing the subject of sexual reproductive health and importance of virginity with their children. She said they always regarded the boys and girls to be young yet peers were negatively influencing them.
According to the director, they worked with schools, communities and churches. Tfwala said they did not exlude boys.