Chief Mumena leads circumcision crusade
CHIEF MUMENA (left) with Bill Gates and Dr. Mannasseh Phiri.
BEING a chief for a tribe that does not practise circumcision, a request from his eighteen-year-old son, Benjamin: ‘Daddy, can I go for circumcision’, was a difficult one for Chief Mumena of Zambia’s Kaonde people in Solwezi, North-Western Province.
“My son went to witness something which is against our culture but life-saving and that is circumcision. Sometime last year, my son came home and direct in my face asked, ‘Daddy, I want to be an MC’. I did not understand that and I asked for a clarification and Benjamin said, ‘MC stands for Male Circumcision’. Because of Benjamin’s confrontation, I was surprised and confused,” Chief Mumena says.
According to the traditional leader, he never expected his son to say such words considering that it is taboo according to the Kaonde people and being a leader, he and his family were expected not to practise what is contrary.
But before he could say anything to his son’s request, Chief Mumena pondered on this puzzle, “The Kaonde people do not practise this ritual called circumcision and my son’s request is against the culture which I have been entrusted to protect, I thought deeply and remained silent for some time.”
Chief Mumena continued thinking, “What are the elders going to think of me if my own son subscribes to something we don’t believe in? How can I let my own family follow the tribal rituals of other tribes instead of their own, and expect my people to respect me?”
Because of being an HIV/AIDS activist and Benjamin mentioning that circumcision has chances of reducing HIV/AIDS infection rate, Chief Mumena allowed his son to go ahead and get circumcised.
“Benjamin had come prepared. He was armed with information to convince me to support his request. He told me, ‘Daddy, the medical experts say that circumcision can lower my chances of becoming infected with HIV by 60 percent and it will also protect me against getting other sexually transmitted infections.”
Being on the throne for almost 12 years now since October 1, 2000 and having been confronted by his son, Chief Mumena is totally convinced that circumcision must be practised by all Zambians regardless of their cultural norms and practices.
“Time has come for all cultures to embrace male circumcision regardless of norms and values because it is a life-saving practice,” says Chief Mumena.
He has since taken an active role in searching for solutions to end the spread of HIV and AIDS and one intervention has been male circumcision, once considered taboo in his chiefdom.
“I have been an HIV/AIDS activist for some time. When I came to the throne on October 1, 2000, I noticed an ever increasing death rate due to HIV/AIDS and I decided to take it up and educate my people.”
Chief Mumena added, “And the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of male circumcision in reducing HIV transmission by at least 60 per cent has brought hope in the challenge of fighting the epidemic and I will continue to encourage my people to go for circumcision even if it is something that our tribe never practise. It is now time to bury certain traditional norms and values.”
Chief Mumena took his advocacy a step further by voluntarily choosing to be circumcised. “I decided to lead by example after the challenge from my 18-ear-old son and right now the debate is already going on and the young people are taking the lead in my chiefdom, a place once considered a non-circumcision ground,” he explained.
Chief Mumena describes the rigidity of some cultures on circumcision regardless of benefits as retrogressive.
Chief Mumena’s stance to voluntarily undergo circumcision to lead by example has won him international recognition. He was recently in Washington DC, where he was invited to a five-day International AIDS 2012 Conference by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to speak on male circumcision.
“Circumcision is no longer looked at as brutal or barbaric, in my chiefdom we have come to realise that it saves lives. How I wish other tribes that do not practise circumcision could realise this too,” he said.
Although historically his tribesmen did not subscribe to the rite, Chief Mumena said circumcision is no longer a custom issue but rather a life-saving procedure.
The chief is not just an advocate but a role model who decided to undergo circumcision after learning about its life-saving benefits.
He is known for publicly encouraging other people to undergo the medical procedure that reduces the risk of heterosexual HIV infection in men by 60 percent.
“Of what benefit are cultural norms if they endanger your life? Culture should be dynamic,” Chief Mumena said.
The male circumcision crusade in Zambia faces challenges from religious groups and other people who say there is not enough evidence to show that the practice curbs AIDS.
Statistics show a 13.5 percent HIV/AIDS prevalence rate and that less than 20 percent of all males are circumcised.
The United Nations 2010 report indicated that universal male circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa could prevent 5.7 million new infections and three million deaths over 20 years.
According to Zambia’s Society for Family Health (SFH), an international non-governmental organisation and a leading social marketing organisations focusing mainly on HIV prevention, protective effect of medical male circumcision is evident in areas where it (circumcision) is practiced.
SFH Male Circumcision programme manager Alick Samona says the procedure makes men less likely to acquire human papilloma virus, the virus that causes cervical cancer.
“It does not only reduce chances of contracting the HIV and improves hygiene but it also helps protect your wife. Circumcision helps your spouse to be less likely to get cervical cancer, because a man can give a woman his HPV which hides in the foreskin,” Mr Samona says.
Mr Samona describes circumcision as one of the ancient practices, “Even in the Bible, circumcision is mentioned and it was practised, if you read about Moses and Abraham, you will agree with me. It is not a new practice and in areas where it is practiced like North-Western Province, the HIV prevalence rate is very low.
“According to the Ministry of Health, North-Western Province is the only province that has exceeded targets for voluntary medical male circumcision,” Mr Samona says.
The ministry aims to have 80 percent of men between 15 and 49 circumcised by 2015. With such a target, it is said that circumcision could prevent 350, 000 new HIV infections by 2025.
The target for Zambia is to circumcise 2.5 million males by 2020 as once proposed according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Only two tribes in Zambia are known for observing this ordinance out of tradition. The Lundas and the Luvales of North-Western Province stand out.
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