Swaziland To Pay Girls $20 To Abstain From S3'x

 

          In a bid to curb the rising HIV infection rates, Swaziland has initiated a programme to actually pay teenage girls R200 (US$20) to abstain from sex.

Even though the tiny southern African kingdom is known as the country with the world’s highest infection rate per capita, this does seem a little extreme.

According to a report by South Africa’s The Independent, the World Bank will finance the programme.

“The government will pay girls the allowances so they will have money to purchase necessities and can turn down money offered to them for sex,” said Thabsile Dlamini, a health care worker in Manzini.

A pilot programme will be conducted to test the effectiveness of the initiative and ensure the girls will not have sex after they receive the money.

The initiative, however, has its critics.

Some have accused the king of wanting a whole nation of virgin women from which he will choose in additions to his 15 wives. Seriously?

Of course, the royal family vehemently denied this.

On the other hand, it is a complex issue. With a population of 1.25 million, the country has over 200,000 people living with the virus. That’s about 16% of the general population.

According to the World Bank, 63% of the country’s population live below the poverty line. This leaves many young ladies susceptible to ‘sugar daddies’ who will exchange with them gifts for sex.

Like the saying goes, ‘Desperate times call for desperate measures’. Maybe this could work. But could $20 be enough to buy the population’s teenage girls enough independence to ward off older men? Time will tell.

What do you think?