VIRGINITY TESTING PRACTICES: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/1016-8427/1263Abstract
Controversy continues to surround the age-old practice of virginity testing, which in South Africa made a visible comeback around the time of the country’s first democratic elections when most South Africans began to feel free to practise their cultural beliefs without fear. It coincided with the period when the HIV pandemic began to take hold. It is practised mainly in some countries of Asia and Africa, and in South Africa it is practised mainly amongst amaZulu. It is believed that this practice prevents unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), especially HIV/AIDS, as well as engendering a sense of pride in teenage and young females, in particular. However, some individuals, organisations and sectors of the community frown upon the practice because it violates constitutional laws that protect the right to equality, privacy, bodily integrity and sexual autonomy. The purpose of this article is to present current discourse on the cultural practice of virginity testing and the controversies surrounding this discourse. This article draws its arguments from the existing literature on virginity testing.
References
Asante-Darko, K. 2004. The flora and fauna of Negritude poetry: An ecocritical reading. Available: www. /arts.uwa.edu.au/motspheriels/mp1999kad.html (accessed 20 October 2014).
Clover, D. 2000. Education for a change: Reconceptualizing formal and/or non-formal environmental education. Comparative Literature Review 44(2): 213-219. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/447604
Estok, S. 2001. A report card on ecocriticism. Journal of Australian Universities Language and Literature Association, 200-238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/aulla.2001.96.1.014
Glotfelty, C., Fromm, H. 1996. The ecocriticism reader: Landmarks in literary ecology. Atlanta: University of Georgia Press.
Kamera, W.D. 2001. Swazi oral literature: An introductory survey. Manzini: Ruswanda Publishing Bureau.
Kamera, W.D., Kunene, E.C.L. and Sibanda, E.S. 1998. Tinganekwane Tesiswati: Siswati Folktales. Uniswa Research Board Series, No 2.Kwaluseni: Uniswa.
Kaschula, R. (Ed.). 1998. African oral literature: Functions in contemporary contexts. Clearmont: New Africa Books.
Kleymeyer, C.D. 1997. Cultural traditions and community-based conservation. In National connections: Perspectives in community-based conservation. Edited by W. David, R.M.
Wright, C. Shirley. Washington DC: Island Press, 323-346.
Marcella, A.J. 1985. The illusory pursuit of the self: A review. In Culture and self: Asian and Western perspectives. Edited by A.J. Marcella, De Vos, F.K. Hsu. New York: Tavistok, 1-20.
Mwanzi, H. 2006. Conjuring back the ecosystem for posterity. In Our landscapes, our narratives.
Edited by H. Indangasi, E. Nyamasyo and P. Wasamba. Nairobi: KOLA, 2-10.
Nchoujie, A. 2014. An ecocritical reading of Zakes Mda’s selected works. Dissertation. Yaounde: University of Yaounde, 1.
Okoh, N. 2004. Freedom from big brother: Misconceptions, materials and the study of African oral literature. In Woman in the academy: Festschrift in honour of Professor Helen Chukwuma. Edited by N. Koroye and N. Ayadike. Port Harcourt. Pearl Publishers, 411-424.
Olafioye, T. 2002. It would take time: Conversations with ancestors. Lagos: Kraft Books.
Richmond, S. 2000. South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Victoria: Lonely Planet Publishing.
Santangelo, B., Myers, G. 2011. Environment at the margins: Literary and environmental studies in Africa. Boston: Ohio University Press.
Slaymaker, W. 2001. Ecoing the Other(s): The call of global green and black African responses. PMLA 116(1): 129-144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1632/pmla.2001.116.1.129
Sone, E.M. 2008. Problems of oral literature research in Swaziland. Uniswa Research Journal
: 80-92.
Sone, E.M. 2011. Symbolism of the mountain in Bakossi-Cameroon mythology. Unpublished PhD thesis. Durban: University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Sone, E.M. 2012. Oral literature and environmental education in Swaziland. Post-doctoral research project. Durban: University of KwaZulu Natal.
Sone, E.M. 2014. Nature in crisis: An ecological construction and conservation of the environment in Swazi oral literature. South African Journal of African Languages 34(2): 195-205. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2014.997056
Takem, J. 2005. Theatre and environmental education in Cameroon. Bayreuth: Bayreuth African Studies Series, 76.
The Encarta Dictionary 2010. Definition of Nature. Available: www.Encarta.msn.com/ dictionary_186132535/ nature.html (accessed 4 October 2014).
Tobias, M. (Ed.). 1994. Deep ecology. San Diego: Avant Books.
Winkler, K. 2009. Signification, intention and projection. Philosophia 37(3): 477-500. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-008-9150-8
Worster, D. 2014. The high altruism. Environmental History (19)4: 716-720. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/envhis/emu070
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright will be vested in Unisa Press. However, as long as you do not use the article in ways which would directly conflict with the publisher's business interests, you retain the right to use your own article (provided you acknowledge the published version of the article) as follows:
- to make further copies of all or part of the published article for your use in classroom teaching;
- to make copies of the final accepted version of the article for internal distribution within your institution, or to place it on your own or your institution's website or repository, or on a site that does not charge for access to the article, but you must arrange not to make the final accepted version of the article available to the public until 18 months after the date of acceptance;
- to reuse all or part of this material in a compilation of your own works or in a textbook of which you are the author, or as the basis for a conference presentation.
Accepted 2016-06-29
Published 2016-09-21
