PICTURE: JACKIE CLAUSEN When a KwaZulu-Natal municipality introduced an academic bursary for young women who can prove that they are virgins it caused an uproar earlier this year.Politicians and women’s groups questioned the bursary’s requirement, claiming it to be unconstitutional. The South African Human Rights Commission has reportedly now opened an investigation into the bursary.The practice of virginity testing has always been contentious, with several calls to ban it over the years. While traditionalists value it as a part of their culture and see it as necessary especially in the era of HIV-Aids in South Africa, human and women’s rights groups consider it archaic and a violation of young women. Each time, the same questions arise. How is virginity inspection conducted and by whom? Is it even possible to know if a woman is a virgin or not?Submitting a certificate of maidenhoodMayor of the UuThukela district municipality in KwaZulu-Natal Dudu Mazibuko told Africa Check that th...
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