HIV infected man is paid to have sex with children and widows

Notwithstanding the ongoing crusade against atrocities against women, a HIV infected man has been hired in Malawi in Africe to have “sexual initiation” with children and widows in the name of tradition.

The 40-year-old man, Eric Aniva known as “hyena” is being hired by families in the region for “sexual cleansing” of women. This tradition is followed for woman at various stages of their lives including first period or whenever someone has an abortion.

The families which follow this tradition extensively pay Aniva $4 to $7 for his services. Aniva states that girls actually like it.

“Some girls are just 12 or 13 years old, but I prefer older women. All these girls find pleasure in having me as their hyena. They actually are proud and tell other people that this man is a real man, he knows how to please a woman.”

However, several women abhor it but do it only to please their family. One of the girls said, “There was nothing else I could have done. I had to do it for the sake of my parents... If I’d refused, my family members could be attacked with diseases - even death - so I was scared.”

The whole process is being carried out by three women who organize camps for young girls and teach them about “their duties as wives and how to please men sexually.” Aniva is required to step in the scene in the final stage.

Ironical to the word “cleansing”, as the community named it, one in ten people in the region are HIV virus infected. Also, the tradition demands that condoms must not be used while having sex with the “hyena.”

Aniva, who claims to have has sex with 104 woman admits that he is HIV positive and would never let his two-year-old daughter go through this trauma. He said, “Not my daughter. I cannot allow this. Now I am fighting for the end of this malpractice.”

Though there are attempts made by government and NGOs, the people are very firm about following the tradition. One woman said, “There’s nothing wrong with our culture. If you look at today’s society, you can see that girls are not responsible, so we have to train our girls in a good manner in the village, so that they don’t go astray, are good wives so that the husband is satisfied, and so that nothing bad happens to their families.”