Every year thousands of young women around South Africa are tested to find out if they are still virgins – someone who has not had sex. Some respect this as a cultural practice, others find it degrading. This ritual amongst the Zulu tribe of South Africa is called “Ukuhlolwa Kwezintombi”

Ukuhlolwa kwezintombi has been historically regarded as a vital social tool to bring pride to the virgin girl, the parents and the community as a whole. The big motive was to receive the full lobola especially inkomo kamama (the eleventh cow). Urbanisation, industrialisation, acculturation, education and religious beliefs led ukuhlolwa kwezintombi to its near demise in twenty years ago.
In recent years its resurgence has been noticed in most areas of KwaZulu Natal and townships to fight against women abuse, teenage pregnancies and HIV/Aids. It is met with a variety of views and emotions with some considering it as valuable while others consider it outdated and irrelevant.
The tradition, which involves the inspection of girls’ genitalia, has drawn an outcry from human rights advocates who say it is an invasion of privacy and degrading towards women. But traditionalists see the practice as an integral part of Zulu culture, and argue that it promotes sex education while also preventing the spread of Aids in a country where one in seven people are estimated to be HIV-positive.