Peer pressure blamed for illegal initiations

Peer pressure among boys at schools has been identified as a factor contributing to the many illegal initiation cases in Mpondoland.

This resulted in boys as young as 10 boys undergoing the rite without informing their parents.

The mother of a 17-year-old Grade 9 uncircumcised boy has told a chilling story of how her son has been discriminated against and humiliated at school for four years by circumcised schoolmates.

"They call him a 'boy', yet some of his tormentors are younger than him. My son always comes back from school in tears. He says he is taunted.

"They call him names and reduce him to nothing but a dog, simply because he is not circumcised. This has put strain on both of us."

The dangers of peer pressure and the tragedy of initiation deaths were raised during a safety awareness outreach campaign by the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders (ECHTL) recently.

Most of boys in Ntsimbini go to the bush when they are 14 or younger in contravention of the law, which states that boys must be 18 or older.

In June last year, about 40 underage school boys underwent the rite and behaved so anti-socially at school, including showing up a month into the school term, that they were dismissed from school.

They were only re-instated following intervention from the authorities and a commitment to ensuring good behaviour from parents.

"Peer pressure is so deadly. The community, parents and traditional leaders, and the education department must come on board deal with rising peer pressure in school," said chief Ngangomhlaba Matanzima, head of ECHTL.