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South Africa

_Parliament hears how to spot a virgin

_ _ November 08 2005 at 03:32AM

Firm breasts and smooth skin behind the knees are just some of the indicators that a girl is still a virgin, parliament's select committee on social services heard.

During a briefing on Monday on circumcision and initiation practices in South Africa, it also emerged that when inspecting young women in the Swazi culture, a firm bottom and thighs and erect nipples also indicated she was not "misbehaving".

G Fakude, who was one of a number of women from various cultures who gave presentations, said another indicator of whether or not a girl was sexually active was that "when she's washing or bathing, water will not stick to her body... only droplets".

Fakude said no circumcision or inspection of the vagina took place in Swazi practice and there was no circumcision for boys.

The initiation of girls started at 10.

The purpose of initiation was to teach girls to respect themselves and bring about a sense of pride, she said.

The presentations formed part of deliberations on the Children's Bill, which has caused controversy in that it would ban virginity testing and allow circumcision only with the child's consent.

MPs also heard that the Bavenda culture no longer practised virginity testing.

Mercy Lukotu of the University of Venda said the mother of a girl would tell the elders when she was ready for initiation.

Albina Kekana, who presented research on various initiation practices in Limpopo, said that in some areas girls were given new names after initiation, or the process was accompanied by the receiving of gifts.

In other areas, such as Ga-Sekgopo village near Ga-Modjadji Bolabedu, those in charge of the initiations would stretch a part of the vagina which allegedly led to heightened sexual pleasure.

She said those who had undergone the process said it was not painful.

Kekana said girls were maturing at a younger age and were menstruating earlier. This meant that sometimes initiation started at the age of nine.

She said it was important that young girls were taught "gender-sensitive" issues, because in the past they had been taught only to "please men".

"We should keep the culture and modify it," she said.

* This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Argus on November 08, 2005