African chiefs to review customs to fight AIDS

  1. Posted on Wednesday 3 February 2010 - 15:00
    Owen Nyaka
    Image of Owen Nyaka
    Owen Nyaka, AfricaNews in reporter Lilongwe, Malawi
    All chiefs from Chewa tribe in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique are expected to gather at a meeting aimed at reviewing their customs which dispose people to high infections of HIV and AIDS. Former vice President of Malawi, Dr. Justin Malewezi disclosed.
    market in malawi
    “The king of chewa, Kalonga Gawaundi has recently give a directive to all chewa chiefs to review all Chewa customs, to see which ones dispose people to high infections and then to see ways and means of either adjusting those customs or even abandon them,” Malewezi said.

    Dr. Malewezi who is also Gawaundi’s ambassador in Malawi said all the major tribes have got their practices but the chewa are probably the ones that have many intricate and sometimes difficult customs to understand.

    “Most of the customs are involved in the initiation process and this might also be the case in a few other tribes but for the Chewa kingdom indeed through these initiation rights it can bring the girls and boys to the position where they can be infected,” said Malewezi.

    He, however say, through changing the new curricular of customs, they shall bring in messages that can protect the young people from infections.

    The directive from the King to discuss which customs to be adjusted is expected to get financial support from National AIDS Commission (NAC).

    It is believed that Chinamwali dance, in which young women dance half naked especially during the annual ceremony of kulamba is expected to be reviewed as well, according to one chief who pleaded anonymity.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive