Young girls are being encouraged to embrace the Amatshitshi (young maidens) way of life as part of efforts to teach them about morals, discipline, self-respect and the responsibilities of womanhood.
The call comes amid concerns over girls becoming pregnant and giving birth at increasingly young ages, with organisers of the initiative saying communities need to guide girls before they are exposed to social challenges that could affect their future.
Speaking at Mhlahlandlela, on the outskirts of Bulawayo, on Friday during the start of annual commemorations honouring King Mzilikazi, founder of the Ndebele nation, poet and Amatshitshi coordinator Sthembile Siqhoza said the initiative sought to equip girls with values that would guide them as they grew into women.
“We want to train young girls and teach them the morals that they need as they grow. We want them to understand that growing up as a girl and eventually becoming a woman comes with responsibilities,” Siqhoza said.
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“We want them to know how to respect themselves, how to conduct themselves and how they should expect to be treated as women. The main thing is to guide them while they are still young so that they grow up knowing the values and morals that are expected of them.”
Siqhoza said the initiative had also been prompted by reports of girls as young as 12 and 13 becoming pregnant and giving birth.
She said she had received calls from hospitals about young girls who were pregnant or giving birth, highlighting what she described as an urgent need for early guidance.
“I get calls from the hospital saying that there are girls who are pregnant and giving birth from the ages of 12 and 13 years. When you hear such things, you realise that there is a need for us to start talking to our girls while they are still young,” she said.
“We cannot wait until they are already facing these problems. We need to teach them, guide them and make them understand the importance of making good decisions as they grow.”
Siqhoza said parents and communities also had an important role to play in supporting girls, adding that their upbringing should not be left to individuals or organisations alone.
“We need everyone to support our girls because training a young girl is not something that one person can do. Parents, communities and those who are working with girls need to come together and make sure that our girls are taught good morals,” she said.
“We need to give them guidance, listen to them and make sure that they have people they can approach when they have problems.”
Another Amatshitshi coordinator, Musawenkosi Ndibali, said the cultural values could help girls develop discipline, self-respect and a sense of responsibility as they prepared for adulthood.
“Amatshitshi can help our girls to understand themselves, respect themselves and know how they should conduct themselves. It is also important that they know their culture and the values that have been passed down to us,” Ndibali said.
“We should not allow our young girls to grow up without knowing these things because culture can also teach them discipline, respect and responsibility.”
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