I SPY... Age of initiates a burning question
TRADITIONAL LEADERS: BOYS BECOME MEN AT 18
Surgeons say 16 would be acceptable as it won’t affect school work.
Whether young men are ready for initiation school at the age of 16, or if they should wait until they are 18, was the basis of heated discussions among traditional healers at the recent public hearings into the Customary Initiation Bill, held in Flagstaff in the Eastern Cape.
The Eastern Cape’s Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (CTLSA) is convinced that the permitted age for boys to undergo the initiation process should be 18, while traditional surgeons believe 16-year-olds should be permitted.
The Bill was introduced in parliament in April, with the aim to provide for the effective regulation of customary initiation practices that require that initiation schools and traditional surgeons should be registered.
Nkosi Xolile Ndevu, leader of the CTLSA, applauded parliament’s initiative to protect the lives of initiates, many of whom die each year through botched circumcisions.
“Government’s initiative is aimed at restoring the integrity and legitimacy of the customary practice. However, as the Eastern Cape, we are consistent that initiates should undergo the initiation process when they reach the age of 18 years,” said Ndevu.
“We believe that a person is ready to take calculated decisions when he reaches the age of 18. We cannot allow babies to undergo the initiation process.”
Ndevu also added that a lack of discipline in young boys was one of the contributing factors leading to initiates losing their lives, as some boys attended initiation schools without their parents’ consent.
The Bill is supposed to assist in terms of ensuring that principals and caregivers do not allow this.
Traditional surgeon Lwando Miya said when the Bill is passed into law it would assist in terms of curbing some of the challenges they experienced – especially the issue of the permitted age for boys to undergo the initiation process.
“If they are allowed to undergo the initiation process at the age of 16, the process would not interfere with their studies as most 16-year-olds are in Grade 10,” said Miya. – ANA