A South African district have decide to offer scholarships to female students that are virgin

South Africa: A district in South Africa has inaugurated a plan to offer scholarships to girls who remain virgins through the duration of their university studies, a move which has elicited outrage among human rights groups.


In a ruling by the South African Commission for Gender Equality, it said the scheme has been found to be unconstitutional. It added that the grants were discriminatory and "perpetuate patriarchy."

"Any funding by an organ of state based on a woman's sexuality perpetuates patriarchy and inequality in South Africa," the commission said in a statement.

16 female students has been presented with the inaugural grant in the eastern Uthukela district on the condition that they abstain from sex until graduation.
One of the conditions also stated is that the students would undergo virginity tests conducted traditionally by elderly women.
 
In a statement by the gender commission, it said that the scheme discriminated against women since male students were not required to undergo the same tests.

"Virginity is not intrinsic to the task of studying," the commission added.

According to the initiator of the scheme, Dudu Mazibuko, a local mayor who introduced the scheme in January 2016, he said the grants would help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and control teenage pregnancy. He added that the scholarships would increase job opportunities for women.

Human rights groups and gender activists have criticized the act of virginity testing, with the Economic Freedom Fighters opposition party tagging the practice "patriarchal and anti-women."

The commission has given the district 60 days to respond to its direction that the virginity scholarship grants should be stopped.