Initiation laws needed

THE National House of Traditional Leaders has expressed concern about the number of deaths that occur during iniation rituals, a Xhosa tradition whereby teenage boys are circumcised to become men.

The amakhosi said it had compiled a discussion paper and asked the Health Department for an imbizo. Causes of death were incompetent doctors, "surgeons who fail to abstain from sexual relations before the ritual," lack of government support, unsterilised instruments and schools more concerned about money than the initiating process.
© Sapa