Remarks by Jon Cayzer to the Oslo Freedom Forum, Johannesburg, 26 March 2018
'WHEN CULTURE DIVIDES US'
Two years ago, I was interviewed by the world’s largest oil company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a public affairs role. I was thrilled when, on the live video link, two vivacious women without hajibs loomed into view alongside their male counterparts. For the first but not last time in my life, my stereotype of this traditional society was upended.
But on that autumn day I, like most others, did not foresee the reforms that the Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, would unleash in 2017 that, taken to their inevitable conclusion, must, I believe, result in near universal standards of human rights in the Kingdom. Since the Arab Spring, the kaleidoscope has been shaken in the Middle East and we still do not know where the pieces will finally settle. But the trend lines are clear.
I share this because the pursuit of human-rights in 2018 is far more nuanced and complex than might appear at first glance, especially when it comes to women’s rights. The last decade has seen great strides taken to address gender-based injustices across the world. And, with this, comes the need to continue addressing the structural and cultural inequalities that still stand. One of these can be found in the area of virginity testing and the controversial ‘maiden bursary’ system that is still being practiced in Zulu and Swazi communities.
Maiden Bursaries is the practice of awarding scholarships for tertiary education to young woman for maintaining their virginity. Recipients of these bursaries are subject to annual virginity tests in which they are inspected by a matron in the community to make sure that their hymens are still intact. Pass and they are awarded a certificate of maidenhood along with finance for their next year of study. Fail and their bursary is taken away from them. I don’t think that I need to unpack this further for you to know the problems that arise with such a system.