GOSPEL singer Fungisai Zvakavapano has weighed into the circumcision debate, declaring: “You’re not a man unless you are circumcised.”
The singer was attending a traditional circumcision ceremony in Chiredzi for the Shangani tribe over the weekend.
The Kurarama Inyasha star belongs to the Baremba tribe which promotes circumcision for both health and hygienic reasons.
Zvakavapano, a board member of the National Aids Council, was hoping to aid a government-led drive to circumcise thousands of young males after research showed it reduced the risk of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent.
She said: “I would say to men, you are not a man unless you are circumcised. I belong to the Baremba tribe where circumcision is part of culture and I encourage the people of Zimbabwe to be proud of their cultural values because there are a lot of benefits that we can derive from culture.”
But after watching 1,400 men parade after undergoing clinical circumcision in the Chikovo village, Zvakavapano cautioned against reckless sexual behaviour.
“Although the use of condoms and circumcision has been proved to be useful in preventing HIV and Aids,” she said, “I would like to say to all the people of God that these are not tickets to allow men to live a messy life with multiple sex partners.”