Chronicle Editor
Blessing Karubwa in Nkayi, [email protected]
75 amatshitshi from different areas across the Matabeleland provinces are gathered at Dakamela grounds in Nkayi District, Matabeleland North province, to sing for chiefs at the Imiklomelo kaDakamela (Chief Dakamela Awards) two-day ceremony.
Amatshitshi are proven virgin girls and boys who are being taught about sexual reproductive health and how to conserve their virginity.
Culturally, non-virgin girls and boys are not allowed to sing or perform household chores for the chiefs, as it is believed that they weaken traditional leaders.
In an interview, the matron of the amatshitshi, Patricia Tshabalala (68), explained that the virgin girls, drawn from different families and areas across Matabeleland provinces, were invited to come and escort the chiefs, perform and sing during the Imiklomelo kaDakamela event.
“For this programme, we selected 75 virgin girls (amatshitshi) to come and sing for the chiefs. We however, left some, they are many. To see if they are still virgins we look at their breasts and we also look at how they behave and then we seek permission from their parents before enrolling into this programme.
“The programme is headquartered in Bulawayo at Vulindlela Centre in Mpopoma. We will be teaching them about reproductive health issues as well as making sure they conserve their virginity up until their time of marriage.
“We have girls from Njube, Mpopoma, Iminyela, Khumalo and other areas across Matabeleland. We usually meet every weekend but due to financial constraints we have encouraged those from far away places such as Plumtree to come at least at the end of the month. Besides me, there are four other teachers in this programme,” she said.
Tshabalala who runs an orphanage in Mpopoma, Bulawayo, explained that the amatshitshi programme does not consider age when individuals want to participate. She has adopted 18 boys and girls into the programme.
Having been trained in South Africa where recruiting amatshitshi is a common practice, Tshabalala returned to train other women.
Now, there are four of them leading the program, focused on teaching young girls and boys about sexual reproductive health and the importance of conserving their virginity.
“I have incorporated some of the amatshitshi who are being abused by their step relatives and they are residing with me now. I have brought some of them here, they are also part of the amatshitshi group. We send them to school using our funds and also send them to tertiary institutions,” she said
Buhlebenkosi Moyo (24), one of the amatshitshi girls who works as a counsellor at a local clinic in Bulawayo, has found solace in her busy schedule. Balancing work and the amatshitshi programme has become her refuge, helping her cope with the pressures of our rapidly changing world.
“I am willing to get married one day, but not now. The pressure is real but by all means I manage to try and ignore by concentrating at work and other things. To try and maintain my virginity I desist from some behaviours found on the internet,” she said.
Siyabonga Khumalo (19) another virgin, is enrolled at Vulindlela Orphanage, where she is pursuing a cutting and designing course. Siyabonga wisely recognises that while people can choose the life they want to live, they cannot avoid the consequences that accompany their choices.
“Life is about choices. You choose death or life. Yes, a man and a woman were designed to be together but I try not to be close to boys and not to watch some television programmes that may corrupt my mind,” she said.
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