A Gweru-based youth coach, Orga Nkala, said it was unfortunate that Zimbabwean culture had been eroded by globalisation.
Nkala was speaking during a public meeting held at Mkoba Hall in Mkoba Village Two suburb in Gweru by the Senate HIV and Aids thematic committee.
The Senate wanted to get the views of members of the public on the issue of allowing children aged 12 years and above access to contraceptives.
Nkala, who is aged 22 and has a 12- year old younger sister, said the very idea that her sister should be allowed access to contraceptives was repulsive. She said:
The main problem is that we have allowed our culture to be eroded by Western culture. Now children are walking naked and we say it’s their right.
Children are allowed to kiss each other in schools and on the roads and parents turn a blind eye, we watch and applaud them and we say it’s their right.
Corporal punishment was removed, and we have these rights we give them. As parents or guardians, we need rights too to protect them hence I am against the idea of giving contraceptives to children without our consent.
She added that local authorities like Gweru City Council should provide recreational facilities such as safe spaces and playgrounds to keep young people’s minds off sex.