op-ed: human right’s groups fire back at misogynistic and patriarchal virginity scholarship in south africa

You may have heard that a South African mayor is doing something pretty gross by offering scholarships for girls and women who can prove their virginity, by way of periodic medical examinations. 16 of those scholarships have been recently awarded. Surely, this has nothing to do with controlling women, misogynistic patriarchal values, or slut-shaming. “To us, it’s just to say thank you for keeping yourself, and you can still keep yourself for the next three years until you get your degree or certificate,” Uthukela Mayor Dudu Mazibuko told a South African radio station.

By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor

And while teen pregnancy rates in South Africa have been on the decline, it is still a reality for anywhere between 23-35 percent of South African women under the age of 20 and can be attributed to as a key factor in preventing the pursuit of higher education.

Still, the push for South African women to have access to higher education is essential, and using discriminatory practices to limit access to those opportunities calls into question the moral and practical legitimacy of the scholarship program. Especially when we consider the fact that teaching abstinence is ineffective and virginity testing is not founded in medical science.

People Opposing Women Abuse, a South African rights organization, has been quite vocal in their opposition to the scholarship’s discriminatory practices. “POWA is shocked to hear that young girls are being tested for virginity in order to get bursaries…it’s a violation of their rights,” Nonhlanhla Mokwena, the group’s executive director, told Agence France-Presse.

Withholding access to education from women who have sex and women who are raped sends the message that value and worth are somehow related to a women’s genitals. And that, in the case of the latter, a woman is still responsible for her abuse. Academic achievements and capabilities be damned! Meanwhile, the sexuality of male South African students is neither rewarded nor shamed—it just is.

Photo: University of the Witwatersrand students protest over planned increases in tuition fees in Stellenbosch. Credit: Mike Hutchings for Reuters

*Erin White is AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.