Malawi President Peter Mutharika has ordered the arrest of a sex worker, Eric Aniva - better known as a 'hyena' in rural Malawi, re...
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Malawi President Peter Mutharika has ordered the arrest of a sex worker, Eric Aniva - better known as a 'hyena' in rural Malawi, responsible indulging in illegal se.x with female adolescents as part of initiation rites, soon after their initial mensuration.
To date, conservative estimates say he has been paid to defile at least 100 innocent girls as part of a traditional ritual marking their passage to womanhood.
Most of them are suspected to have been infected by the virus.
The little-known local practice lasts three days and is performed in southern Malawi by men known as 'hyenas' at the request of a girl’s parents after her first menstruation.
The little-known local practice lasts three days and is performed in southern Malawi by men known as 'hyenas' at the request of a girl’s parents after her first menstruation.
The ritual is believed to train girls to become good wives and to protect them from disease or misfortune that could fall on their families or their village.
“Aniva was arrested on Monday after he was summoned to my office,” district commissioner Gift Lapozo said. In a BBC interview broadcast last week, Aniva confessed to being infected with HIV and sleeping with at least 100 girls without using protection.
“Some girls are just 12 or 13 years old, but I prefer them older,” he said. “All these girls find pleasure in having me as their hyena. They actually are proud and tell other people that this man is a real man, he knows how to please a woman.”
It was unclear over how many years Aniva had been a 'hyena'. Malawian President Peter Mutharika had earlier issued a statement ordering Aniva’s arrest and calling for an inquiry into the role of the parents involved.
Aniva should “be investigated for exposing the young girls to contracting HIV and further be charged accordingly,” Mutharika added. “Harmful cultural and traditional practices cannot be accepted.”
The sexual cleansing ritual is also performed on bereaved widows in Nsanje district to exorcise villages of evil spirits or to prevent another death occurring.
Aniva, who has two wives and was reported to be in his 40s, said a 'hyena' was selected by the community based on good morals and that custom did not allow him to use condoms.
“There was nothing else I could have done. I had to do it for the sake of my parents. If I’d refused, my family members could be attacked with diseases — even death — so I was scared,” one girl told the BBC.
Malawi, which has one of the highest HIV infections in the world, criminalises se.x with a person under the age of 16. If found guilty of underage se.x, Aniva could be imprisoned for life. - Online Sources
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| 'Hyena' Man is Hired by Parents to Defile Girls |
“Aniva was arrested on Monday after he was summoned to my office,” district commissioner Gift Lapozo said. In a BBC interview broadcast last week, Aniva confessed to being infected with HIV and sleeping with at least 100 girls without using protection.
“Some girls are just 12 or 13 years old, but I prefer them older,” he said. “All these girls find pleasure in having me as their hyena. They actually are proud and tell other people that this man is a real man, he knows how to please a woman.”
It was unclear over how many years Aniva had been a 'hyena'. Malawian President Peter Mutharika had earlier issued a statement ordering Aniva’s arrest and calling for an inquiry into the role of the parents involved.
Aniva should “be investigated for exposing the young girls to contracting HIV and further be charged accordingly,” Mutharika added. “Harmful cultural and traditional practices cannot be accepted.”
The sexual cleansing ritual is also performed on bereaved widows in Nsanje district to exorcise villages of evil spirits or to prevent another death occurring.
Aniva, who has two wives and was reported to be in his 40s, said a 'hyena' was selected by the community based on good morals and that custom did not allow him to use condoms.
“There was nothing else I could have done. I had to do it for the sake of my parents. If I’d refused, my family members could be attacked with diseases — even death — so I was scared,” one girl told the BBC.
Malawi, which has one of the highest HIV infections in the world, criminalises se.x with a person under the age of 16. If found guilty of underage se.x, Aniva could be imprisoned for life. - Online Sources
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