{"id":271189,"date":"2024-07-18T15:16:29","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T07:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=271189"},"modified":"2024-07-18T15:17:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T07:17:07","slug":"zambia-48-boys-rescued-after-circumcision-abductions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=271189","title":{"rendered":"Zambia: 48 boys rescued after circumcision abductions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Mainga Kabika (R) led a team of officials from various ministries to investigate complaints about the circumcision camp<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

LUSAKA, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Forty-eight boys in Zambia have been rescued from a male circumcision camp, after desperate complaints by some parents that their children had been abducted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the boys was on HIV medication and had not taken his anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs for two weeks, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secretive traditional rite-of-passage ceremonies see boys aged between 10 and 17 spending up to six months in seclusion in the bush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authorities said the site, on the outskirts of Livingstone town, near a national wildlife park, had been set up without permission \u2013 alleging the children were \u201ccaged\u201d in unsanitary and dangerous conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three of the rescued boys were briefly admitted to hospital \u2013 some for treatment from complications after undergoing circumcision typically done using razor blades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), one of the boys was suffering from bilharzia, a chronic illness spread through contaminated water that impairs growth and brain development in children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiation site, which was established a fortnight ago, has since been burnt down, the country\u2019s national broadcaster says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those setting up such camps search for uncircumcised boys to undergo the ritual, known as \u201cmukanda\u201d \u2013 often going to schools and forcing their way into classrooms to pick up those they deem the right age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their parents are not consulted and teachers can do little to resist their bullying tactics. Some of the boys go along willingly but many are coerced and told they cannot buck the tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The person who set up this camp was reprimanded on Monday by Mainga Kabika, the top civil servant in the gender ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She led a team of officials from various ministries to Livingstone, a tourist hub for those visiting the nearby Victoria Falls, to investigate the parents\u2019 complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to preserve our tradition but you have to follow regulations. You just don\u2019t do things against the law like this,\u201d Kabika said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Zambia\u2019s Daily Mail newspaper, some of the boys had been physically abused by those in charge at the site after they had tried to escape at night \u2013 including the boy in need of ARVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents had reportedly been contacted by phone with demands of up to $75for expenses, despite not giving permission for their child\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although surgical male circumcision is available at both public and private hospitals in Zambia \u2013 often encouraged as a way of reducing HIV infection \u2013 certain ethnic groups prefer the traditional approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The procedure tends to take place in the Southern Hemisphere winter to minimise the discomfort associated with the healing process \u2013 though the rite of passage is intended to be a test of endurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boys are expected to put up with pain and difficult living conditions \u2013 for example they sleep on the bare ground with no blankets \u2013 to prove their move from boyhood to manhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiation is steeped in secrecy \u2013 it is a cultural taboo to talk about it and women are not allowed to go near a circumcision site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow do you keep these children without their parents\u2019 consent, is that what the tradition says?\u201d Kabika is quoted as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Billy Milimo, secretary of the Livingstone District Education Board, welcomed the move, saying the tradition was harmful to the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou do not know how excited we are. Our teachers will jubilate and dance,\u201d he is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The owner of the camp was initially arrested but released on condition he burn down the site of the camp \u2013 mainly made up of rough wooden shelters \u2013 which not only bordered the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park but was also next to a cemetery. — NNN-AGENCIES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LUSAKA, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Forty-eight boys in Zambia have been rescued from a male circumcision camp, after desperate complaints by some parents that their children had been abducted. One of the boys was on HIV medication and had not taken his anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs for two weeks, officials said. Secretive traditional rite-of-passage ceremonies see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[213],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271189"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=271189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":271194,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271189\/revisions\/271194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=271189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=271189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=271189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}