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Eric Aniva claims he has had sex with more than 100 adolescent girls
- He said he was paid between $4 and $7 by the girls' families for his service
- Aniva admitted he continued his 'cleansing' service despite having HIV
- He faces life in prison after admitting having sex with girls as young as 12
Malawi police have arrested an HIV-infected man who was paid to have sex
with more than 100 adolescent girls as part of a traditional ritual marking
their passage to womanhood, officials said Tuesday. Eric Aniva, from the
southern district of Nsanje, was held after giving a media interview confessing
to have slept with the girls for a fee of between four and seven dollars, paid
by each of their families.The little-known local practice lasts three days and
is performed in southern Malawi by men known as 'hyenas' at the request of a
girl's parents after her first menstruation.
The ritual is believed to train girls to become good wives and to protect them
from disease or misfortune that could fall on their families or their village.District
Commissioner Gift Lapozo said: 'Aniva was arrested on Monday after he was
summoned to my office. 'Aniva should 'be investigated for exposing the young girls to contracting HIV
and further be charged accordingly,' Mutharika added. 'Harmful cultural and
traditional practices cannot be accepted.'
The sexual cleansing
ritual is also performed on bereaved widows in Nsanje district to exorcise
villages of evil spirits or to prevent another death occurring. Aniva, who has
two wives and was reported to be in his 40s, said a 'hyena' was selected by the
community based on good morals and that custom did not allow him to use
condoms. One girl told the BBC: 'There was nothing else I could have done.'I
had to do it for the sake of my parents. If I'd refused, my family members
could be attacked with diseases -- even death -- so I was scared.'
Malawi, which has one
of the highest HIV infections in the world, criminalises sex with a person
under the age of 16.If found guilty of underage sex, Aniva could be imprisoned
for life.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3709033/Malawi-police-arrested-HIV-infected-man-known-hyena-paid-sex-100-adolescent-girls-traditional-ritual-marking-passage-womanhood.html#ixzz4FaCzEV3l
My take: Its sad that in this era some people continue to cling to such uncouth and harmful traditions. Does this outdated tradition need some Vasco Da Gama to unfold the danger embedded in it? Its only a matter of allowing common sense to prevail. For instance, the OKUSOMBOKA (kutakasa) practice that is still practiced among Kerewe people in Tanzania, where a widow is forced to have sexual intercourse with a hired man without wearing condoms in order to be "cleansed", do we still need the Messiah to make those people come to their senses? http://www.vitukovyamtaani.com/2013/08/ubakaji-wa-wajane-ni-ubakaji.html
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