Zimbabwean politician proposes women have fewer baths and shave off their hair to stop HIV

Women must bath occasionally, shave-off their hair, dress shabbily and get circumcised to make them less attractive to men, a Senator has proposed during a conference on HIV. Morgan Femai, the MDC-T senator for Chikomo, said his bizarre prescription was necessary to help curb the spread of HIV/AIDS because men were finding it difficult to resist attractive and well-dressed women.

“What I propose is that the government should come up with a law that compels women to have their heads clean-shaven like what the Apostolic sects do,” Femai said Friday while addressing a parliamentary HIV awareness workshop in Kadoma. “They should also not bath because that is what has caused all these problems (spread of HIV).”



Femai also recommended circumcision for women – becoming the latest in a long line of MDC-T lawmakers who have pushed forward bizarre proposals about how to curb the spread of HIV. “Women have got more moisture in their organs as compared to men, so there is need to research how to deal with that moisture because it is conducive for bacteria breeding. There should be a way o suck out that moisture,” he said in comments insinuating that the virus which causes Aids breeds better in women than men.

Zimbabwe is one of the countries worst affected by HIV/Aids but has seen a decline in new infections year-on-year over the last decade. Sithembile Mlotshwa, the MDC-T Senator for Matobo, recently suggested that Zimbabweans must be limited to one sexual encounter per month. Men, she said, should be administered a drug that reduces their libido.