The Perilous Path to Manhood

News Restoring his dignity: Teen desperate to become a man despite the danger of initiation

In the first part of a nine-part sequential narrative series on initiation practices in SA, Kwanele Samuel cannot wait ...

News The men-only tradition: Women say men have turned initiation into a 'grisly slaughterhouse'

Boys without close male relatives who regularly check on them at initiation schools can often fall victim to abuse, ...

News The problem with Mpondoland: The place where most initiates die

Customary male circumcision is a relatively new tradition in the Mpondoland area of the Eastern Cape, which includes ...

News Circumcision done wrong: Few arrests and paltry convictions

Notorious Nyandeni illegal traditional surgeon Mshiyelwa “Mtshayina” Ndoda has struck again, this time allegedly ...

News Making the right decisions: Qualified traditional surgeons stem the deaths

When Kwanele Samuel heads to the traditional initiation school on November 22, he will be circumcised by registered ...

News Why our boys die: The screams and stench of botched circumcisions

Researcher Mmampho Gogela, the head of the Centre for Learning and Teaching Development at Walter Sisulu University in ...

News Joy and celebration: Boys return as men

Hundreds of cattle and sheep are set to be slaughtered in the next two months to feed initiates, their families and ...

News What it's like to lose your manhood: The silent victims that have given up on life

Siyanda Gadiso, 29, tried to take his own life three times after a botched circumcision in 2013.

News The ones who don't make it: The few who mourn while the rest celebrate

When Kholiwe Nqonqothane wakes up in the morning, she feels normal, but only for a second.