Is virginity still relevant in today's age?
The discussion about virginity has come under the spotlight after recent stories emerged of virgins opening up about wanting to wait for marriage.
Many people lose their virginity as teenagers.
According to several studies, the average age people lose their virginity is when they are 17.
Although the timing of losing one's virginity is entirely a matter of personal conviction, numerous studies highlight the value of delaying sex until one is emotionally prepared to handle the consequences.
Since no method of contraception is 100% risk free, some of the effects include unintended pregnancies and being at risk of contracting STDs. Even if all precautions are taken, there may still be a risk.
WATCH: 123-year-old virgin still hoping to find a willing partner
Around Africa, women especially are encouraged to save themselves for marriage. Every year, thousands of young women in South Africa are subjected to virginity testing. The images are often posted on social media to share the pride of being untouched.
However, many have challenged why it should be mostly women who are encouraged to abstain.
One lady who has been very vocal about her choice to abstain from sex until marriage is YoTV star and television presenter, Rorisang Thandekiso.
The 33-year-old told Mpoomy Ledwaba in a recent interview that she made the decision to remain sexually pure because of her religious beliefs.
“It was based on my mother’s bible teachings. There was a show called Soul Food. We were watching it late at night, and my mother saw us watching it, and there was bible study the next day. It was almost like the sex talk but wrapped up in our faith."
She added that she is choosing to abstain because she is looking forward to marrying a man who will love her.
“One, because God says so. Two, me, I, and I between me and him want to stick it through. Three, the lucky guy who gets to get me will reap the benefits of something he never worked for but will be a blessing from the Lord.
“However, that is not my main goal. I am more interested in being given somebody by God that will love me and see everything that God has out for me. And I’m sure it’s great to have a good sex life, but it is not the only thing.”
Another woman who made headlines for being a virgin is Theresia Nyirakajumba, a Rwandan woman aged 123.
"I have never seen the nakedness of a man. For 123 years, I have lived with an unfulfilled desire, a deviant hope, and a courageous spirit of waiting that one day a man will emerge and embrace my soul. I never had a husband in my entire life," Theresia said in a video posted on YouTube.
In 2016, the municipality in Uthukela, near Durban, came under fire after it released bursaries aimed at girls who were virgins.
“The bursaries are for young girls who are still virgins,” said a municipality spokesman, Jabulani Mkhonza.
“It’s a new category which the mayor has introduced this year."
He said the goal was for “young girls to keep themselves pure and inactive from sexual activity and focus on their studies”.
In 2015, Ntuseng Mapasa of Duma Harry Gwala Regional ANC Women’s League said: “As the women’s league in this region we encourage the cultural practice of virginity testing, calling that women who test girls must be skilled at doing so."
READ: Young woman flaunts her virginity certificate on social media
Image courtesy of iStock/ @Robert Daly