ALTHOUGH the distribution of condoms to school children has been discussed over and over, it still angers cultural organisation Ubuhle be Nguca.
On Sunday, the organisation had a meeting where traditional healers and chiefs from Gauteng spoke about the recent International Aids Conference held in Durban.
They said discussions around giving condoms to children disrespected traditional culture and misguided the youth.
Traditional healer Thembisile Kunene said: “I was at the conference and all I could hear was sex being glorified. We kept quiet when the government gave 12-year-old children the right to use contraceptives and allowed them to go to school with their big pregnant bellies.
“Is the government giving children permission to skip classes and have sex in the toilets? Instead of promoting abstinence, they give underage sex a platform in our children’s lives.”
Some members of the organisation explained they continued to believe there was a reason the tradition of virginity testing had not died out.
“This way our girls will be forced to stay away from boys. The government must stop selling sex to the youth and encourage them to focus on their studies,” said Mtimande Ngwenya, a member of the organisation.
One of the girls who was at the meeting said it was best to practise traditional customs because they kept kids out of trouble.
She added when she and her fellow maidens returned home from school, they did their homework before gathering to sing and dance.
The traditional leaders said they would continue to put pressure on the government to reconsider its decision to distribute condoms at schools.
Mary-Jane Matsolo of the Treatment Action Campaign said the highest number of sexually transmitted diseases and infections was among teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19. Therefore, there was a call to give teenagers condoms because it is a fact that they are sexually active.
