The Times (South Africa)

June 28, 2009 Culture a lame excuse for outdated initiation methods that kill our youth Mondli Makhanya For this annual march of death to stop, this matter has to be elevated to the national agenda The definition of murder is to intentionally cause the death of another person. Culpable homicide, on the other hand, is to cause the death of another person through negligence or neglect. Those are the definitions that our learned friends use to describe these heinous things we humans do to each other. Whether it is murder or culpable homicide, killing happens. And when people get killed like this there are supposed to be consequences. The person or people responsible for the deaths of others should be charged with murder or culpable homicide and be punished accordingly. Well, that is how it is supposed to happen. Especially when, on the face of it, the case is open and shut. Not so when it comes to the lives of poor peasants in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and other parts of the country. Their lives, if the events of past years are anything to go by, are worth very little. The cheapness of their lives was very evident this week when it was revealed that the death toll for this winter’s circumcision season in the Eastern Cape had risen to 11. That means 11 young lives were cruelly cut short in the name of culture and tradition. These 11 young men were killed during what is essentially the very backward practice of slicing off the foreskins of young men in an unhygienic manner and making them live in conditions that make them susceptible to life-threatening infections. When these conditions and the cruel procedures result in death, or when initiates have to amputate their infected sexual organs, the defenders of these practices feign surprise. Before I get lynched by cultural fundamentalists, let me clarify that it is not the practice of initiation that is backward. Our constitution protects the cultures of our land and our common sensibilities dictate that we should promote this diversity. The rituals that accompany the transition to adulthood form an essential part of all cultures and should be celebrated. However, it is the insistence that this transition be accomplished using methods from two centuries ago and that initiates be put through cruel drills that riles one. This cruelty, which is supposed to make men out of boys, has been blamed for many of the initiation-related deaths. To its credit, the Eastern Cape government has been waging a tireless battle to modernise the practice but has had little more than cursory support from other institutions. The government of that province, where most of these deaths occur, has passed a law regulating the practice, established a certification system for circumcision schools, set up task teams to police them, raided the premises and arrested those who run non-accredited schools. They have encountered the resistance of feudal lords who run the Eastern Cape, the indifference of the national authorities and the lethargy of a police force that couldn’t care less. Many izingcibi, the traditional doctors who run these schools, simply refuse to be certified — arguing culture and tradition cannot be regulated by secular laws. They have stated that the conditions and the cruelty meted out to the boys are necessary for their growth as men. For this annual march of death to stop, this matter has to be elevated to the national agenda. We all have to ask ourselves how we would react were these middle-class suburban kids who went to the school around the corner and shared the hobbies and habits of our own children. We have to see them as more than inanimate rural beings. Organisations such as the ANC Youth League and the youth formations of other political parties have to join the fight against this practice. In taking up young people’s issues, they have to prioritise putting an end to this killing of young boys under the guise of culture. The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, which carries a lot of clout in rural communities, must do more than issue mealy-mouthed statements condemning law-breaking izingcibi as they normally do following initiation-related deaths. They have to realise that more than anyone else, they have the ability to influence communities to police illegal initiation practices. But for some reason they are coy about being at the forefront of this battle and some of their members are very resistant to government intervention. Another person who has her work cut out is Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, the newly appointed minister of women, youth, children and the disabled. She has a responsibility towards the young people who are and who will be affected by this practice. But the most important weapon in this battle has to be the law. Endangering the lives of people is a crime which must be prosecuted. There have to be high-profile prosecutions that will send a message to other potential murderers that in this republic the law is supreme and supersedes culture, religion and ideology. The last word on the matter must go to Eastern Cape health department official Sizwe Kupelo, who told the South African Press Association this week: “It’s high time that everybody stands up to put a stop to this. If communities did speak out against the barbaric individuals who are killing these boys, this would stop.”