Swazi virgins end chastity ritual despite AIDS threat

LUDZIDZINI, Swaziland - Thousands of Swazi virgins on Monday took off the traditional tassels they have worn to signify chastity, ending a five-year ritual reintroduced in 2001 to fight the country's Aids crisis.

"I have worn this since 2001. No boy has touched me but for on the lips. This has made me stronger as an individual, and I have honoured Swazi custom," said Penelope Dube, 20, who lives close to the royal village of Ludzidzini, 15km east of Mbabane, the country's capital.

The tradition, known as Umcwasho, has a customary period of five years. It has been observed periodically but had not been practiced for decades before it was reintroduced in 2001 as officials sought to turn the tide on HIV/Aids.

An estimated 40 percent of adults in Swaziland carry the HIV virus, the highest infection rate in the world.

Girls between the ages of 16-24 were instructed to wear the tassels to advertise their chastity.

The tassel ceremony took place on Monday at the royal compound in Ludzidzini, where the maidens are gathering ahead of the traditional reed dance next week.

Swaziland's King Mswati attends the annual dance and since 1999 has used the event to choose new brides from among the bare-breasted dancers to join his royal wives.

The 37-year-old king, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, has 12 wives.

The virgins' tasselled woollen headgear will be burned early on Tuesday in another private ceremony.

"We wished to protect our girls from contracting Aids," said Mandla Ginindza, a chaperone for the young women.

Families of those who lost their virginity had to pay a penalty of one cow, or a cash equivalent of $US200 ($NZ291) -- a significant expense in a country where two-thirds of the population lives on less than $US1 per day.

Mswati himself had to pay a cow fine after he took a virgin fiancee just days after the Umcwasho order was instituted.

Critics accused the king of ignoring his own moral pronouncements, but the palace argued that the tradition was aimed at stopping pre-marital sex rather than formal marriages.

- REUTERS