Forty-eight boys in Zambia have been rescued from a male circumcision camp, after desperate complaints by some parents that their children had been abducted. Secretive traditional rite-of-passage ceremonies see boys aged between 10 and 17 spending up to six months in seclusion in the bush. Three of the rescued boys were briefly admitted to hospital – some for treatment from complications after undergoing circumcision typically done using razor blades. According to the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), one of the boys was suffering from bilharzia, a chronic illness spread through contaminated water that impairs growth and brain development in children. The initiation is steeped in secrecy - it is a cultural taboo to talk about it and women are not allowed to go near a circumcision site.

Source: The Star July 18, 2024 06:58 UTC