First gazetted in March this year, the National Assembly has now passed the Customary Initiation Bill, which aims to regulate initiation schools, in order to reduce the number of initiate deaths. Over the past six years more than 400 initiates have died, with 3600 young men being admitted to hospital, resulting in 132 amputations. While leaders of Contralesa (Congress of … Read more
Last Friday saw the opening of the much anticipated feature film, Inxeba (The Wound). While it is an isiXhosa language film, the hype around this movie, and the setting for the story, makes it a valid discussion for a platform like Ulwazi. Inxeba has won countless awards, including Best SA Director and Best Actor at … Read more
Male initiation ceremonies receive a lot of attention in South Africa, but for all the wrong reasons. Instead of focussing on the cultural relevance of the practice, most news reports are instead forced to look at the danger involved as dozens of young boys die at the hands of untrained circumcision practitioners every year – … Read more