Varemba’s Utilisation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the Prevention of HIV and AIDS among Young Women and Girls in Mberengwa District, Zimbabwe

Silindiwe  Zvingowanisei; Anniegrace Mapangisana Hlatywayo

doi:10.25159/2663-6697/14489

Authors

Silindiwe Zvingowanisei University of Zimbabwe
Anniegrace Mapangisana Hlatywayo Midlands State University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0218-2381

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6697/14489

Keywords:

HIV and AIDS, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Komba girls’ initiation rite, Mberengwa in Zimbabwe, Varemba, virginity testing

Abstract

The HIV and AIDS pandemic is among the existential challenges of the 21st century and has resulted in ineffable suffering across the world. Africa is currently enduring high burdens of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, with the highest concentration in sub-Saharan Africa, including Zimbabwe. Young women and girls are more susceptible to the HIV and AIDS pandemic. Young women between the ages of 15–24 are four times more likely to be infected with HIV than their male counterparts of the same age group. Much effort has been channelled towards mitigating the pandemic, and some measure of progress has been achieved. Regardless of the interventions available to people, including the use of contraceptives, new cases of infection, particularly among girls, and HIV-related deaths continue to escalate. This calls for alternative intervention measures towards curbing the pandemic. This article seeks to investigate the utilisation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in HIV and AIDS prevention among girls as a possible alternative. The study uses a qualitative research design and corroborates insights from the phenomenological method. The article argues that IKS can be adopted as a valuable resource for curbing the spread of HIV among young girls in Zimbabwe. Using the Varemba as a case study, the article explores the use of IKS by women to prevent HIV transmission among young women and girls. Data was collected through personal interviews with research participants in Mberengwa district. The findings revealed that virginity testing as an indigenous cultural practice can be used for HIV and AIDS prevention among young women and girls. The study proposes the adoption of Indigenous Knowledge Systems as a mitigating strategy for the prevention of HIV and AIDS among girls and suggests their use in addressing existential crises, and more pronounced, the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

Author Biography

Anniegrace Mapangisana Hlatywayo, Midlands State University

Anniegrace Mapangisana Hlatywayo (PhD) is a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Department of Religious Studies and Ethics at the Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. She is also an Academic Associate/Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR) in the College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA). Email: hlatywayoa@staff.msu.ac.zw; hlatywaa@yahoo.co.uk. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0218-2381.

References

Chimininge, V. 2023. “Going back to the Roots: Tapping into African Indigenous Knowledge Systems as a Response to COVID-19.” In Religion and Health in a COVID-19 Context: Experiences from Zimbabwe, edited by M. Manyonganise, 27–47. Bamberg: University of Bamberg. https://doi.org/10.20378/irb-92488. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20378/irb-92488

Chirovamavi, M. 2012. “Fathering Alternative Masculinities: The Joseph Model.” In Redemptive Masculinities: Men, HIV and Religion, edited by E. Chitando and S. Chirongoma, 211–228. Geneva: World Council of Churches Publications.

Chitando, E. 1998. “The Phenomenological Method in a Zimbabwean Context: To Liberate or to Oppress?” Zambezia 25 (1): 99–114.

Daley, S. 1999. “How South Africans Screen Girls for Abstinence.” New York Times, August 17.

Dei, S. G. J. 2000. “African Development: The Relevance and Implications of ‘Indigenousness.’” In Indigenous Knowledge in Global Contexts: Multiple Readings of Our World, edited by B. L. Hall, G. J. S. Dei and D. Goldin Rosenberg, 70–86. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Dodzo, M. K., and M. Mhloyi. 2017. “Home Is Best: Why Women in Rural Zimbabwe Deliver in the Community.” PLOS ONE 12 (8): e0181771. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181771. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181771

Douglas, M. 1966. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203361832. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203361832

Dube, M. W. 2002. “Post-Coloniality, Feminist Spaces, and Religion.” In Postcolonialism, Feminism, and Religious Discourse, edited by L. E. Donaldson and K. Pui-Lan, 100–120. New York: Routledge.

Fabello, M. A. 2013. “Everyday Feminism: 4 Myths about Virginity.” Accessed January 28, 2025. https://everydayfeminism.com/2013/08/4-myths-about-virginity/.

Flick, U. 2014. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. 5th ed. London: Sage Publications.

Gumbo, S. 2020. “Gendered Sexual Violence amongst Adolescents: A Case Study of Gaururu and Masarira Villages in Mberengwa, Zimbabwe.” MA diss., University of Zimbabwe. https://searcwl.ac.zw/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Gumbo-Shumirai.pdf.

Hlatywayo, A. M. 2017. “Indigenous Knowledge, Beliefs and Practices on Pregnancy and Childbirth among the Ndau of Zimbabwe.” PhD diss., University of KwaZulu-Natal. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/15296.

Jongwe, M. 1999. “The Chinamwali Ritual as a Cultural Identity among the Yao Muslims in Mazowe District, Zimbabwe.” BA Hons diss., University of Zimbabwe.

Kanyoro, M. R. A. 2002. Introducing Feminist Cultural Hermeneutics: An African Perspective. New York: Sheffield Academic Press.

LeClerc-Madhlala, S. 2001. “Virginity Testing: Managing Sexuality in a Maturing HIV and AIDS Epidemic.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly: International Journal for the Analysis of Health 15 (4): 533–552. https://doi.org/10.1525/maq.2001.15.4.533. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/maq.2001.15.4.533

Maila, M. W., and C. P. Loubser. 2003. “Emancipatory Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Implications for Environmental Education in South Africa.” South African Journal of Education 23 (4): 278–280.

Mangombe, K., I. Marufu, A. Milanzi, S. Moyo, C. Muza, L. Zanamwe, and L. Makurirofa. 2021. “Informal Health Strategies: The Use of Traditional Home Remedies in the Fight against COVID-19 in Urban Harare, Zimbabwe.” Journal of Urban Systems and Innovations for Resilience in Zimbabwe 3 (2): 133–150.

Mapara, J. 2009. “Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Zimbabwe: Juxtaposing Postcolonial Theory.” Journal of Pan African Studies 13 (1): 139–155.

Mapuranga, T. P. 2010. “A Phenomenological Investigation into the Effects of Traditional Beliefs and Practices on Women and HIV and AIDS, with Special Reference to Chipinge District, Zimbabwe.” PhD diss., University of Zimbabwe.

Mashego, S. L., M. E. Mothusiotsile, and M. T. Bhuda. 2021. “A Response to COVID-19: Perspectives from African Indigenous Knowledge Systems.” Gender and Behaviour 19 (1): 17247–17261.

Matumbu, O. 2019. “Puberty Roles as Cultural Responses to the Prevention of HIV in Zimbabwe: The Case of Varemba Circumcision and Initiation Rites in the Mwenezi District.” PhD diss., University of KwaZulu-Natal. https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/17880.

Mawere, M. 2015. “Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Risk Management in Africa: Some Showcases from Zimbabwe.” In Between Rhetoric and Reality: The State and the Use of Indigenous Knowledge in Post-Colonial Africa, edited by M. Mawere and S. Awuah- Nyamekye, 19–38. Bamenda: Langaa Research and Publishing. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh9vwc4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh9vwc4.4

Maxwell, J. A. 2012. Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach. London: Sage Publications.

Mekgwe, P. 2010. “Post Africa(n) Feminism?” Third Text 24 (2): 189–194. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09528821003722116

Muchono, W. 2018. “Constructing ‘Woman’: Probing How the Cultural Practice of Chinamwali among the Shangaan People is used to Construct ‘Womanhood.’” PhD diss., University of KwaZulu-Natal. https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/18589.

Mugwisi, T. 2017. “Applying Indigenous Knowledge in Agricultural Extension: The Case of Agritex Workers in Zimbabwe.” Indilinga: African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems 16 (1): 160–177. https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/EJC-8fae7149b.

Muyambo, T. 2016. “Indigenous Knowledge Systems: An Alternative for Mitigating HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe.” Alternation 23 (2): 289–308.

Muyambo, T. 2018. “Indigenous Knowledge Systems of the Ndau People of Manicaland Province in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of Bota reshupa.” PhD diss., University of KwaZulu-Natal. https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/17025.

Nunu, N. W., L. Makhado, J. T. Mabunda, R. T. and Lebese. 2020. “Strategies to Facilitate Safe Sexual Practices in Adolescents through Integrated Health Systems in Selected Districts of Zimbabwe: A Mixed Method Study Protocol.” Reproductive Health 17: 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-020-0862-y. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-020-0862-y

Odora Hoppers, C. A. 2002. “Indigenous Knowledge and the Integration of Knowledge Systems.” In Indigenous Knowledge and the Integration of Knowledge Systems: Towards a Philosophy of Articulation, edited by C. A. Odora Hoppers, 2–22. Claremont: New Africa Books.

Rahman, M. S. 2017. “The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches and Methods in Language ‘Testing and Assessment’ Research: A Literature Review.” Journal of Education and Learning 6 (1): 102–112. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v6n1p102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v6n1p102

Shoko, T. 2009. “Komba: Girl’s Initiation Rite and Inculturation among the Varemba of Zimbabwe.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 30 (1): 31–45.

Shumba, H. K. 2016. “The Survival of the Varemba Cultural Practices in Zvishavane District—Zimbabwe (1890–2016).” PhD diss., Midlands State University.

Sithole, L., and C. Dziva. 2019. “Eliminating Harmful Practices against Women in Zimbabwe: Implementing Article 5 of the African Women’s Protocol.” African Human Law Journal 19 (2): 568–590. https://doi.org/10.17159/1996-2096/2019/v19n2a1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17159/1996-2096/2019/v19n2a1

Swaartbooi-Xabadiya, Z., and M. Nduna. 2014. “Virginity Testing: Perceptions of Adolescent Girls in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.” New Voices in Psychology 10 (1): 16–34. https://doi.org/10.25159/1812-6371/3412. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25159/1812-6371/3412

Thobejane, T., and T. Mdhluli. 2015. “Probing the Efficacy of Virginity Testing on the Fight against HIV AND AIDS: The Case of the KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.” OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development 8 (7): 11–20. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2667081.

Turner, V. 1995. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

UNAIDS. 2022. In Danger: UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2022. Accessed February 15, 2025. https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/2022-global-aids-update_en.pdf.

UNICEF. 2023. Ending HIV/AIDS with Children, Adolescents and Young Women. Accessed February 15, 2025. https://www.unicef.org/zimbabwe/reports/ending-hivaids-children-adolescents-and-young-women.