Is it time to ban traditional circumcision?

In this past week alone a total of 25 boys have died during coming of age rituals in Mpumalanga. The victims are boys aged 10 to 15 years. Their deaths are often caused by blood loss or infection when circumcisions are poorly performed by traditional practitioners.  

 

Traditional male circumcision is still widely practiced in the Xhosa population throughout South Africa. The practice is also common among the Ndebeles. It is a rite of passage from boyhood to manhood and is treated as a real macho test of a boy’s ability to withstand pain.

 

Males who have not undergone the ritual are not considered real men – they are ridiculed and ostracised. In these communities an uncircumcised man remains a boy, whatever his age. This is why thousands of boys risk injury and even death to undergo the procedure during initiation schools in the bush. They are removed from society to spend weeks, sometimes months, in seclusion.

 

The custom is ruled by secrecy. The precise details of what is taught at initiation schools are not well documented and are considered confidential. I do understand however that the ceremonies often involve demonstrations of bravery and manhood to confirm that the initiate is ready and worthy to become an adult member of the community.

 

Apparently the actual cutting of the foreskin is a small component of the whole process.  While many initiates visit legal initiation schools, many still fall prey to fake traditional surgeons each year – the circumcision profiteers who are only in it for the money. 

 

The reality of the situation is that botched circumcisions are a public health hazard and can lead to mutilations and deaths.

 

Male circumcision is carried out by traditional providers without any form of training. It is also carried out by service providers who have some health training but little or no specific training or supervision in male circumcision and with inadequate equipment or facilities at their disposal for providing such services safely. 

 

I am aware of the fact that a lot of work has been done by the medical community in partnership with traditional leaders to make this cultural practice safer, but I believe that a lot more still needs to be done - otherwise innocent children will continue to die like ants. 

 

Maybe we should ask ourselves whether it is not time to ban traditional circumcision. Then again, our country has a constitution and our constitution guarantees the right to practice a culture of one’s choice. Culture needs to be respected.

 

This is a topic worth debating, but unfortunately it’s also a debate which often leads to gridlock and no solutions.

 

- Phumlani Dube

@PhumlaniDube

 

- Phumlani Dube produces the Ndumiso @9 show on East Coast Radio.