Podcaster Penuel Mlotshwa has sparked a debate by suggesting that the traditional African custom of lobola (bride price) should only be paid to virgins who plan to be housewives.
In a recent [YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/live/uvVi3LGNDcY?si=WIEUq4Mhr29ENTyY), Mlotshwa said non-virgins should not get lobola and should focus on building their careers, citing African cultural history.
“As small as lobolo and damages are in the grand scheme of things, they are significant in terms of the symbolism of what they mean in society. To me, they are a very fair indicator of why black communities are so broken. That tells me almost everything I need to know about the health of black society,” he said.
“When you look at the history of black couples getting together, there was no sex before marriage; it is taboo in African customs and Christian traditions. If you sleep with someone before marriage, you are sinning from an African perspective and are meant to repent.”
He said a woman's worth is measured by her ability to remain pure.
“The worth of a woman is her body count, how many men she has slept with because it says something about how men value her in society.”
Mlotshwa criticised modern practices surrounding lobola, such as men taking loans to pay the bride price. He argued that the true gesture of lobola has lost its meaning, as it was originally intended as an exchange of goods or services, not a monetary transaction.
He said with the new age of women empowerment, feminism, gender equality and women being able to choose what they want to do with their lives instead of conforming to gender roles, they are being “hypocrites” for wanting lobola.
“Sadly, because black men have lost their minds, their land, their dignity, their worth, their culture and their sense of being, they get dictated to through trash.”
Furthermore, Mlotshwa condemned the practice of paying “damages” to a woman's family in case of unplanned pregnancy. He claimed that parents should be responsible for ensuring their daughter's virginity before marriage.
“A girl child is meant to be raised by a father and, specifically, a mother who teaches her about purity so that when a boy comes and asks for her hand, she knows what is going on. Today, girls are telling their moms that they are having sex. They inform their moms about abortions and miscarriages, and then this idiot of a boy has to pay damages while this girl acts like a virgin.
“The mother and father are now going to tell this boy, 'You damaged our daughter.'”
**TshisaLIVE**