In first of its kind scheme, a South African mayor has awarded scholarships to 16 young women for remaining virgins.
The scholarship scheme was introduced this year and each year the mayor’s office will award scholarships to over 100 promising high school and university students, said the spokesperson of mayor. He added that the scheme was introduced to encourage women to stay pure and focus only on education.
The young women who apply for the scholarships must stay virgins and agree to have regular virginity tests. The scholarships focus only young women because they are much vulnerable to Teenage Pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
As per a study, about 20,000 teenage pregnancies were recorded in 2014. 223 of these pregnant girls were still in primary school. Another household survey revealed that 5.6% of South African teenagers were pregnant in 2013.
