A group of 104 young women from Giyani, Malamulele, Sinthumule, Sekgosese and Mulima-Pfananani village outside say sex before marriage is a sin, and they mean it.

Proudly displaying their virginity certificates, these young women celebrated their virginity during a ceremony held at the Revelation Christian Church at Pfananani a fortnight ago. Every year, the young women avail themselves for voluntary virginity tests.

According to a senior lecturer in health sciences at the Univeristy of Limpopo, Ms Takalani Mashamba, the young women should ensure they were educated as far as possible, in order to add value to the economy of the country. Mashamba advised the young women to be wise in their choice of friends, so that they did not fall into any of “the devil’s traps”.

She said that a large number of marriages of people who had been involved in sexual activities prior to their marriages did not last. She encouraged the young women to believe that God would provide them with “real husbands”.

Pastor Selaya Famadi from the Revelation Christian Church said no one was forced to participate in the virginity test programme, although he did support the project. The young women had started the project themselves, he added.

"The programme was initiated to save and protect young women from contracting HIV/Aids, and other sexually related diseases. They were successful from the start of the project in 2006." He said the virginity testing helped young girls to abstain from sexual activities, which often resulted in teenage pregnancies. He added that the church and the organisation were proud of the girls who got tested.