Twenty young girls aged between seven and 19 passed their traditional virginity testing at Maphanga Section, Katlehong, on August 14.
The ceremony, which was part of celebrating Women’s Month, was conducted by the founder of Buhlebuzile Traditional Dance, Gogo Lillian Zondo (60).
Zondo said what she witnessed was great and proved that young girls could take care of and respect their bodies.
“I am very happy because many communities are impacted by teenage pregnancy. We find many pregnant children queueing at clinics. They spend their time in the streets and end up dropping out of school,” said Zondo.
She explained that the ceremony of traditional virginity testing is important because many girls are sexually violated and at times they are afraid to tell their parents. As result, she has created a safe space for the children.
“They come here every day, except when they are writing exams. We offer to counsel them and we teach them about the importance of education and culture. It is very important for children to know their culture,” she explained.
“My wish is to have a centre where they will be able to learn handcraft skills and agricultural knowledge so that they can know how to grow their food,” said Zondo.
Zondo said she started the group after the death of a young girl from Phadima Section. The group aims to keep young girls safe.
Nhlanhla Zulu (55) said a lot has changed since his daughter joined the group.
Zulu said his daughter was a person who usually came back home around 19:00, but that has changed since she joined the group.
“May God bless Gogo Zondo. She depends on her pension grant but the work she does for these children is amazing. I wish people could start supporting her because she brings great value to the community.
“The things she does are usually done in rural areas but she brought that here in the township, which is very important at a time when most of the youth is turning a blind eye on culture and tradition,” said Zulu.
Challenges
It has been difficult for Zondo to sustain the group as a pensioner.
She shares the little she has with her group of girls, from food to buying them uniforms and assisting with transport fees.
It becomes more challenging when the dance group has to travel to perform or compete with other groups because of lack of transport.
“The community helps us a lot, but we need more help. I have been operating the group since 1998 without any form of assistance.
“We don’t receive support from the government. I tried going to councillors but with no luck. I thought when we did events they would eventually realise the impact we have in the community,” said Zondo.
Recently, the group was supposed to attend a dance competition in Soweto, but it could not as there were no funds to pay for transport.
Zondo said her wish is for councillors and locals to see what they do so that they can support them.
To help, contact Zondo on 076 141 7132.
