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| National |
| Mchinji fights shanzi practice |
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by
George Ntonya, 12 July 2004
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09:01:07
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Mchinji District Aids Coordinating Committee (Dacc) intends to group all Traditional Authorities (TAs) in the district to discuss one cultural practice — shanzi — which is blamed for the spread of HIV, the virus that causes Aids.
Dacc chair Renford Malema said in an interview Saturday that shanzi is a cultural practice that compels male traditional leaders to identify a “beautiful girl or woman to entertain a visiting chief in bed”.
“Culturally, when a traditional leader visits his colleague in another village and spends a night there, the host is supposed to identify a beautiful girl or woman for the visitor to sleep with at night,” said Malema at Chiwaula Primary School in the district, where World Vision Malawi presented assorted prizes worth over K100,000 to youths that participated in its HIV/Aids project.
“The information we have indicates that some traditional leaders are still practising shanzi,” Malema said, adding that the practice is shrouded in secrecy.
Villagers who attended the function confirmed shanzi was an old cultural practice largely associated with enthronement.
Elderly people respect chiefs from distant villages who travel without a wife to attend installation of another chief by accommodating the visiting chiefs in separate houses and provide them with special women “to provide them with warmth so that they do not miss their homes,” people in the area said.
“This cultural practice is dying now because of the HIV/Aids epidemic. I hope it is going to stop completely,” said one villager.
According to Malema, Dacc held a meeting with sub-chiefs last year to discuss the cultural practice and the meeting agreed that there was need for a similar meeting specially for TAs, to find ways of eradicating the practice.
“We are unable to hold the meeting because we need money to transport and feed the chiefs,” said Malema, adding that the committee submitted a proposal to National Aids Commission (Nac) early this year for funding.
At least 18 percent of 360,000 people in Mchinji are HIV-positive, according to Malema. The percentage of the infected people has dropped from 23 percent three years ago.
World Vision Malawi development manager for Mchinji (Mlonyeni area) George Keffa said that his organisation has decided to mainstream HIV/Aids in its development programmes, hence the two-year youth project it is implementing in partnership with another non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Hope for African Children Initiative (Haci).
“We cannot talk of development if we do not address the problem of HIV/Aids,” said Keffa after presenting sports kit, learning materials and six bicycles to primary schools and out-of-school youth clubs involved in the HIV/Aids programme.
The youths are involved in behaviour change interventions through drama, poetry and peer education.
Mchinji is expected to start distribution of free anti-retrovirals (ARVs), drugs that prolong the life of HIV-infected people, next month with a total of 150 beneficiaries, said Malema.
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