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Eric Aniva, who is HIV positive, unabashedly claimed he has had sex with more than 100 women, most of them underage. Some were as young as 12. He was paid to do this, often by the girls parents, he said.
On
Tuesday, he was arrested on orders from President Peter Mutharika,
who learned of the incidents through an interview Aniva gave the
BBC last week.
Aniva was charged with defilement, Malawi Police Inspector General
Lexten Kachama told the Associated Press.
Out of the many women he had sex with, most of them were
underage children, Kachama said, meaning they were younger
than 16. The age of consent in Malawi was changed from 13 to 16
in 2011, the Guardian reported.
Aniva
is whats known as a hyena, or a fisis.
The term, used in certain villages in the southeastern African
country, refers to a male who is hired to have sex with women
and girls for ritualistic purposes, the Atlantic reported.
There are several circumstances in which a hyena might be used,
but all are centered on the idea of ritualistic sexual cleansing,
or kusasa fumbi.
For
example, in many rural areas of the country, a recent widow is
expected to have sex with a member of her husbands family
to exorcise the spirit of the deceased. If she doesnt, then
any future deaths in the village can be blamed on her.
If a family member would rather, though, he can pay a hyena
to have sex with the widow in his stead, the New York Times reported.
And such hyenas are often employed to have sex with girls as young
as 10.
Its
customary for girls to go through this sexual ritual immediately
after their first menstruation cycle and before their first marriage.
Thats generally early in life In Malawi, 46.9 percent
of girls are married before they are 18, according to the International
Center for Research on Women, even though, as Al Jazeera noted,
the countrys parliament passed a law just last year outlawing
marriage before 18.
The girls reportedly hate the ritual but feel helpless to stop
it.
They have no choice, Harriet Chanza, a national professional
officer for family health and population at the World Health Organization,
told CNN. They are forced by their parents and guardians
to go through those things. If anyone refuses, they would definitely
be looked at as an outcast. There is a lot of peer pressure.
The name hyena derives from the fact that they are supposed
to operate in stealth and at night, according to the New
York Times.
Eric Aniva has been neither stealthy nor secretive.
Last
week, Aniva, a resident of Nsanje district, in southern Malawi,
gave an extensive interview with the BBC. During the interview,
in what the author described as boasting, Aniva claimed
to have had sex with 104 women, most of them the age of schoolchildren.
Most of those I have slept with are girls, school-going
girls, Aniva told the station. Some girls are just
12 or 13 years old, but I prefer them older. 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.
The
BBCs Ed Butler, though, thinks he simply lost count by this
point and estimates the number to be much higher.
Aniva also said he has HIV, and, as dictated by the rules of kusasa
fumbi, never wore a condom.
Forgoing a condom is common practice for hyenas, Joyce Mkandawire,
the communications adviser at Girls Empowerment Network in Malawi,
a young womens rights organization, told CNN in 2014.
One reason is that a hyena, who is thought of in an almost spiritual
manner, is considered to be high in morals and, as a result, free
of HIV, the BBC reported. Aniva, who knew he was HIV-positive,
continued performing the rituals without disclosing his diagnosis.
Its unclear whether he infected anyone.
Its
likely that many more hyenas and many of the women and
children Aniva had sex with also have HIV. According to
a 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey, sponsored in part
by the U.S. Agency for International Development, UNICEF and the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10.6 percent
of people ages 15 to 49 in Malawi are HIV-positive.
After the July 21 publication of the BBC report, the presidents
spokesman, Mgeme Kalilani, released a statement obtained by the
organization.
While we must promote positive cultural values and positive socialization of our children, the president says harmful cultural and traditional practices cannot be accepted in this country, it read. All people involved in this malpractice should be held accountable for subjecting their children and women to this despicable evil. These horrific practices although done by a few also tarnish the image of the whole nation of Malawi internationally and bring shame to us all.
It
added that Aniva will further be investigated for exposing
the young girls to contracting HIV and further be charged accordingly.The
president, NGOs, and health and humanitarian organizations are
not the only ones who hope to end sexual cleansingMany of those
involved take issue with it.
Fanny, one of Anivas two wives, hates the practice, even
though they married after she was widowed and he cleansed
her.
I want this tradition to end. Fanny told the BBC. We are forced to sleep with the hyenas. Its not out of our choice, and that I think is so sad for us as women. When considering his daughter, even Aniva himself said he wants the practice to end. Not my daughter, he said. I cannot allow this. Now I am fighting for the end of this malpractice.
The
president has also ordered investigations into the parents involved
in Anivas many cleansings.