Pictures start at 11.00

11.03

It's early morning in the heart of Zululand in South Africa and these girls are on their way to one of the most important but controversial festivals of the year. Dressed in their traditional Zulu costumes they'll take part in an ancient custom once thought forgotten. They've arrived for a virginity test.

11.27

Slindile Nxumalo

17 years old

I want everyone to see that I'm still a virgin. That I haven't had sex.

11.35

Nonhlanhla Mbambo

19 years old

A lot of girls aren't coming for the virginity test. They're saying bad things about us - that we are arrogant, as if we are better than them.

11.52

Despite the criticisms, these girls want to prove their virginity to parents and friends and more importantly to prospective husbands. A virgin in these parts is highly sought after and many girls are encouraged to take pride in their virginity even the little ones.

12.15

Over a thousand have turned up and for many it's a long wait at the back of the queue

before it's their turn to be inspected by the elder Zulu women. Here there are no doctors and only the crudest conditions prevail.

12.35

Andile Guimede

Virginity test organiser

Most maidens, young girls, I must say don't use contraceptives. I also think AIDS is going down because most of the maidens don't go out with men anymore. The girls don't want to have any relations with boys. They respect themselves and know who they are.

12.55

For many it's a daunting experience.  It's the first time they'll have an intimate examination but the chance to be proved a virgin is a great relief.  For every girl found with her hymen intact the women celebrate.

13.17

And once inspected, the girls have to pay around a dollar for the certificate before they can finally begin partying.  They also get a mark on their forehead to prove their virginity.

13.30

Nonhlanhla Mbambo

19 years old

I'm happy. Now everyone has to believe me. The tests can also detect diseases. It's good not to have sex until you are married.

13.46

Even this 37 year old wanted to prove that she was still a virgin. The girls share their results as though it were their graduation day.

13.58

Anita Zamadene Nene

21 years old

Some people say that it's an old-fashioned test, but that's wrong. A lot of girls and boys support this tradition.

14.14

Question: Are you happy?

14.16

Answer: - Yes, I'm very happy about the tests.

14.19

There's also a test for boys but it's credibility is open to question and is rarely taken up.

14.25

Pitey Sithole

test assistant

The test for the boys needs them to pee. The pee goes straight down if he's never slept with a girl. If he sleeps with a girl then the pee goes up then down.

14.44

Proclamations of chastity are firmly for the girls.  These proud Zulu warriors aren't interested in the test.  For them promiscuity is fashionable, but it comes at a price. The spread of AIDS in South Africa is out of control.

15.03

A recent forecast from an American Institute predicted that one in five adults will die here from an aids related illness before 2010.

15.18

But some traditions are as strong as ever.

15.21

Here the speaker, a regional government minister, says that only girls should abstain from sex.

15.31

Despite the spiralling cases of AIDS the government appears happy to foster a conservative approach.

15.39

Celani Mtetwa

minister

This test is a part of our culture. How it affects the boys. Once a girl is pregnant by a boy, then the parents of that boy will be severely punished.

15.54

But in reality the opposite is true. Girls who give birth are often abandoned without any financial support.

16.04

This mother says the father promised her a Lobola, a dowry or sum of money but these were lies and she's been left to fend for herself.

Beauty Dlamini

solo mother

16.22

Question: And Now?

Answer: And now Nothing, no Lobola, nothing, nothing

16.30

Some girls are stranded between the old Zulu traditions and the church. This girl was told by her local pastor not to attend the virginity tests.

SOT

Pretty Ndawo

20 years old

Because of my religion I didn't do the test. At the church the pastor says that only God should know my body. I don't like this (test).

16.47

Question: Have you had a boyfriend yet?

16.50

Answer: No, I don't need this in my life.

16.54

Many women find the virginity test unfair because girls who don't have the test are discriminated against.

17.03

Phumzile Luthuli

18 years old

If girls have been raped then they can't go to the virginity test. We don't want  everyone to immediately know. The test puts us under pressure. I would like to be a virgin and have a certificate to prove it.

17.20

In South Africa, a woman is raped every 26 seconds and the signs are that HIV infection among the 5-14 age group is on the increase.  Older men are seeking out younger women or those with the certificates in the belief that they are free from infection. 

17.40

Human rights activists are opposed to the tests, claiming they are medically unsound and unnecessarily pressurise the girls.

17.48

Thembeka Sibisi

LHR - human rights lawyer

Some people believe that if somebody is a virgin then that person will get a better marriage and you must keep yourself pure until you get married. And, they also feel that it will reduce teenage pregnancy and some people believe it will also stop the spread of AIDS. I personally believe that education is much better than exposing ones private parts or genitals. It's a degrading treatment and is humiliation.

18.27

It's the height of the festival weekend and a feast is laid on for the girls. Despite the genial atmosphere behind the scenes there's wheeling and dealing over dowries and the market value of girls with certificates.

18.44

David Alcock grew up with the Zulu and questions the virginity tests.

18.52

David Alcock

Zulu expert

The whole virginity test has unfortunately become so many other things, that money clears the conscience. So, that if those who want to attend the virginity test and found they aren't virgins can raise enough and pay enough people they'll be declared a virgin.

19.09

But a mere certificate might not be enough save the lives of these young women.  The United Nations estimates that around 2.4 million of the country's 38 million people are already infected with HIV and AIDS. More alarmingly a recent survey of south African hospitals found 35% of all Zulu girls are HIV positive.

19.40

The festival's final act is for the girls to pay homage to the Zulu princesses of rain and fertility in a kind of divine test.  They make their way to a marked field where they give prayers for a good harvest while a Zulu elder sows the land with seeds and home-brewed beer. 

20.07

Eventually the girls are allowed to begin ploughing.   Zulu superstition believes that if non-virgins step on the field, the princesses punish them by making their hoes fall to pieces.

20.30

For some it's an uncertain end to the festival but one which highlights the danger facing traditional communities like the Zulu. Virginity tests have resurfaced because of the fear of AIDS but these tests are unlikely to solve the problem.  If South Africa is to escape an AIDS catastrophe she will need to look forward towards education and awareness rather than to the symbols of her past.

21.02

Ends

Report: Marion Mayer-Hohdahl

Camera: Sven Cheatle

VT editor: Grant Aerts

AKM: Impressions of Africa

CD BS 10A-01

Nr 4 Mama Africa - 27 seconds