U N P L U G G E D|T H I N K E R

TO TEST OR NOT TO TEST: THE QUESTION THAT CREATES MORE QUESTIONS…  

Virginity testing (VT) in the world is nothing new to African and Asian cultures. The reasons for conducting them however have evolved, and so have the opinions on practice. Opinion is often adverse to the practice, however it always seems to be a general battle between tradition and change, more so in this subject matter of high sensitivity, with the two sides wanting the best outcome for the dynamic investigation: To test or not to test. The flip side of the question is to ask what is most important and has an extensive bearing on society at large? It needs to be something effective, sustainable and demonstrate irrefutable results with time.

A South African Focus…

VT in South Africa started as a traditional custom that taught young women that their virginity is valuable and something you must have pride in. Being a virgin until marriage also meant that the literal price of proposal from a man would be higher because you were ‘pure’, therefore more money (in the form of cows) to the future brides family. VT is an event in the village that encompasses song and dance to celebrate the virgins of the African soil. Girl by girl they enter the hut, are examined by an elder. A virgin is certified with a white mark on her forehead, and a red mark indicates a broken virginity. In summary there is public declaration and grouping of those that are virgins and those that are not- in that case they proceed to counseling and are educated about the implications of a sexually active lifestyle. Is there more damage than good to the results being made public to human dignity or is it an encouraging factor that people can know about it and talk openly about it?

VT reemerged in the 21^st century as means to curb the HIV/AIDS pandemic and demonstrated considerable changes in the teenage pregnancy rate in Kwa-Zulu Natal, the prominent area that still practices VT.  Teenage pregnancy in South Africa is most common among the impoverished and having a child at a young age impels the cycle of poverty to become a closed circle with a hidden beginning and an unclear solution.

As much as VT is considered to be a voluntary practice, how much of that is accurate to the true feelings of these girls? Do people test out of the fear of falling victim to smearing gossip?  Why should the burden of remaining a virgin be placed on the female, while the male has less regulation in terms of sexual activity?

With the world becoming more Westernised, liberal and democratic; Human Rights, Women’s Rights and Children’s Rights become an affliction on tradition and the debate furies on. The central element of it is morality and everyone re-defining everything because they mean to progress, which actually causes regression because there is an element of “break and rebuild”.  I think that is the inclination of human beings always wanting to make things complicated. But at the same time, one shouldn’t fall into the trap of simplifying what is complicated and complicating what is simple. Another central element is time.  “What was relevant then isn’t relevant now.” 50 years ago children were not raping children. In the 20^th century we were not testing virginities for the sake of disease but merely for the sake of morality. We were not testing infants to see if they were being sexually abused. Which era would you rather prefer? Is it a case of choosing the lesser evil? Or just forgetting about the past and dealing with the current situation- because quite frankly we talk too much about things that have happened, and not what we are going to do to make the best of the situation.

End of part 1. Think about it. 

President Jacob Zuma had a portrait of himself and his genitals hanging in the Goodman Gallery for the whole world to see. The exposure of the Art Work has since been hosted by the City Press online and now occupies the profile pictures and avatars on people’s social network profiles and actually has gone viral. The Spear artwork was conceptualised by Brett Murray who was mainly using satire to express himself about politics in South Africa, “it’s an attempt at humorous satire of political power and patriarchy within the context of other artworks in the exhibition and within the broader context of South African discourse”. The gallery and the City Press have refused to remove the art work because it would be “censorship”, and against the constitution. The Goodman gallery aims to be reputable by being thought provoking, challenge the status quo and to ignite dialogue through the art that it displays, and Murray’s artworks are fitting for their artistic objectives.

“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone”- Brett Murray

I can accept the fact that he didn’t mean to hurt anyone, if he means it. I think there was no compromise between art and respect in the abstraction of this artwork. Thought was given to the creativity and how ever brilliant it might be, but not enough thought to the fact that a person is involved. If he did not mean to hurt anyone, then why does Murray not withdraw the painting, as it is obvious that the president and his family are nothing short of insulted?

The smear of the Spear

It is the order of the decade pull the “freedom of speech” card when one knows what they have said has been potentially harming or when confronted with fact and opinion that Freedom of Speech has been abused. Since Mister Murray has freely used his right to express himself, then it is just as equal to what the vandals of the painting did to his art work. Murray expressed himself at the expense of President Zuma and the vandals expressed their views on Murray’s art work. If this is freedom of speech, I’d rather it be removed from the constitution because it is actually not productive. It actually all boils down to how human beings ruin all that is good. Like a child that doesn’t realise the fortune of having crayons and knowing how to use them- not to colour in the couches or the walls but to use it on paper!

Dignity for the human race

No right is absolute. Nobody can enjoy rights in the constitution unless it infringes on another person’s right. We ALWAYS to forget this. I would recommend that dignity be an absolute right, set in stone and placed on the highest point of every country, because lack of dignity is a world-wide problem. If dignity for all was set in stone, the infringement on other people’s rights is a secondary effect of that right. If you respect the dignity of another person, you will not steal from them, you will not harm them in anyway. Sadly, in this lifetime we have a never ending spiral of ‘Tit-for-tat’. Dignity in the sense that one has a deep appreciation and respect for the potential that is vested in all of us, built onto the fact that we are human beings with the inseparable elements of mind, body, spirit and experiences.

For now and for immediate effect, I am suggesting the use of a score card for communicating opinions. Unless you cannot tick all four of these, whatever you feel should remain unsaid. T.H.I.N.K about it:

Is it ABSOLUTELY True? If not, then half a truth or “almost” is equal to a whole lie, and we all know that lies are bad.

Is it ABSOLUTELY Helpful? If not then don’t rock the situation.

Is it Absolutely Inspiring? If not then it’s not worth your breath.

Is it ABSOLUTELY Necessary? If not then it’s unnecessary. This means that it is not needed to better the situation.

Is it ABSOLUTELY Kind? If not, then there is lack of compassion and you need to rethink what you want to communicate. 

In summary, and in the very basic form, if you can’t say anything or do anything nice, then please don’t do anything. Words damage people and damaged people do damaging things. Thank you. That’s my 2 cents. 

Thato Choma|@timelessthato

In a dessert-like condition, where it is tremendously difficult to even find a job, let alone get hired and the minute a follow up from a CV submission comes through, it almost feels like water to a very parched throat, and walking into an air conditioned room after walking in 35 degree Sahara sun, and suddenly there are even prayers coming from an atheist.

News just in, temperatures in the interview seat are even hotter. Companies in America have been asking interview candidates & potential employees to provide them with their Facebook profile details. In certain cases, they are asked to login to their accounts on the spot of their interview. In the worst case, they are asked for their login details to have an accurate view of what the candidate is really like. Some people describe it as a gross violation of privacy and say “it is like someone asking for the keys to your house.” Note that if they are not asked for the above, they are in one way or another coerced into giving up the information which they require.

A more acceptable means of what I call “The Social Media Interview” is when the human resource department of the respectable company requests the candidate’s friendship and the candidate accepts as a form of allowing a review of the Facebook account.

The question is what would you do? Many people are faced with the dilemma between maintaining their dignity and the fact that they are sweating from not having a job and having no means to live. Some people “have no choice” because jobs are scarce. Even if you have got nothing to hide, there is still something violating about an outsider prying around in your private life. Whatever even happened to keeping your business and private life away from each other?

The companies mainly seek to protect the company by making sure that the right person is hired so that the chances of nasty surprises in the future are dampened.

Over and above many interesting elements to this case, it reveals the classic Cold War tendency. Trust is absent. Even when there is no reason for suspicion, there is immediate assumption of the worst. Rather be safe than sorry perhaps? Or as the publication of David T Lindgren goes, “Trust but verify”? That is exactly what the Cold War amounted to and often broke out into hot wars in certain zones due to broken trust. Without going into too much historical detail, the relevant aspect is the lack of trust and the need to ascertain security no matter the expense.

Even though the job seeker will consent to have his or her private life invaded, and even if there is nothing wrong with the Facebook profile in the eyes of the employer, the job seeker will still have a deep settled root of injustice and harm which is not a healthy foundation for any kind of relationship.

On the other hand, the company will be investing in a resource and they do deserve to know what they are investing in. It is disturbing to be referring to somebody as a commodity, but it’s for the purposes of keeping the illustration simple. However, this is where the problem lies. People have become likened to commodities. Therefore they can minimised; and ironically we have the Human Resource department managing these matters. Being a resource is a wonderful thing. It means that you are useful, not to be abused in any way. It is concealed bullying.

A lot of what we have overcome in history is repeating itself or simply carrying on subliminally in the present day. The future of our job interviews is a mini depiction of the slave and the master in a sense that the job seeker (slave) will do anything to get the job and the employer (master) assumes the position to request what he or she will.

I predict that our future auditors, accountants, actuaries, economists, and opinion leaders of all kinds will find a way to pin a definite and suitable value (based on a certain criteria of course) on what the value of a person should be. Oh but wait, is that not what remuneration is? Or is it purely a reward? Even better, the year 2017 will see a book published on what you should be like if you want to be worth a certain amount of money, from your looks to your brains. And it will be in the offices of every single human resource department. I am almost certain about this one. 

This opinion column was specifically written following my reading an article in The Star newspaper of 22 March 2012. 

-Thato Choma|@tweetingthato