'No virginity, no scholarship for girls'

Kwazulu Natal female students who got bursaries awards were stunned when authorities told them that anyone who will be found to have lost her viginity will not get the bursary.

Daily Sun reported that authorities said if one loses virginity, they will take away your bursaries. The condition was given to 16 young women who received the Maidens Bursary Award from the UThukela District Municipality in KZN for remaining pure.

In addition, they had to undergo virginity testing every holiday to ensure they were not sexually active.

The municipality introduced the new category of bursaries during its Mayoral Matric Excellence Awards in January this year.

Municipality spokesperson Jabulani Mkhonza said 113 matrics who cracked excellent grades, including those who were not virgins, received awards.

Mkhonza said the bursary was UThukela District Mayor Dudu Mazibuko's idea.

"Sixteen of these bursaries went to the girls for still being virgins. However, in order to keep their bursaries, these maidens will have to undergo a check-up every holiday. If they lose their virginity, then the bursary gets taken away," Mkhonza said.

He said the bursaries were intended to encourage young girls to stay pure and focus on their education.

Busisiwe Lunga from Joburg has been conducting virginity testing for 11 years. Her own 21-year-old daughter, who is in university, is still a virgin and still regularly tested.

Busisiwe welcomed the initiative.

 "Most of the young women contract Aids, their children get the disease and on top of that, the men leave them and they forget that they still have a long road ahead of them," she said.

Professional counsellor Yolande Bird disagreed, saying virginity testing could be stressful for the girls and be seen as an invasion of privacy.

She added: "What if you are raped during your first year? It is not fair because someone would have forced themselves on you. What happens then?"

One of the bursary recipients from Escourt in the KZN midlands is doing her second year of a pharmacy degree course at Nelson Mandela Bay University.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said she was prepared to keep her virginity until she finds the man to marry her. She added that she doesn't trusted boys, which is why she remains a virgin and qualified for the award.