Zambian Women Practice Dry Sex to Avoid Accusations of Infidelity

In Zambia, a traditional belief maintains that a dry vagina is a sign of fidelity. Women curb natural lubrication with herbs inserted vaginally or taken orally, but doctors warn that some practices could lead to health problems.

Dora, 39, has been married for 18 years. She credits her relationship’s longevity to her regular use of traditional herbs, which dry out her genitalia.
A lubricated vagina sends the wrong message, she says.
“If you are like that, the man will think
you are promiscuous and he might leave
you for another,” Dora says.
Dora says she learned about vaginal
drying during her traditional marriage
counseling sessions, and her husband has
never complained about their sex life.
“I know how to take care of myself,”
says Dora, who requested only her first
name be used.
Women in this southern African country
have long used herbs to curb natural
lubrication. They say the practice helps
satisfy their partners.

How can you enjoy sex when you can’t feel the walls of your woman? Luka Banda, a man who supports vagina drying.

Traditionally, women inserted herbs into
their vaginas, but medical experts warn
that the practice can lead to abrasions
— scratches and other open wounds —
during intercourse, which heightens the
risk of contracting HIV and other
sexually transmitted diseases. Now, most
women consume herbal powders by
adding them to porridge or other food.
They say the oral powders are just as
effective, and they don’t come with the
risk of causing open wounds within the
vagina.
Dora, who once inserted herbs and salt
crystals into her vagina, agrees that oral
powders work well.
Experts say the use of vaginal drying
agents is widespread in Zambia, though
there are few statistics that track the
practice.
Two-thirds of the 812 Zambian women
surveyed in a study Psychology, Health &
Medicine published in 2009 had used
traditional medicines for dry sex at one
point. About half were currently using
them.
Vaginal drying has been reported in
countries including South Africa,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia
and Zimbabwe.
Traders who sell herbal drying agents
say most women now prefer to take the
herbs orally.
“Most of the products we sell are those
powders women put in porridge or in
warm water,” says Josephine Munsaka,
who sells vagina drying herbs. “We rarely
receive women wanting things to insert.
If there is, it is one out of 20.”
The practice is grounded in a false
belief that female genitalia can be loose
or watery as a sign of frequent sexual
intercourse, health experts say.
“Medically, there is no such a thing as a
loose or watery vagina,” says Dr. Lottie
Hachaambwa, an infectious diseases
specialist at the University Teaching
Hospital in Lusaka. “The vagina has
mucus membranes that provide the fluid
for lubrication during sex, which is
normal.”

Medically, there is no such a thing as a loose or watery vagina. The vagina has mucus membranes that provide the fluid for lubrication during sex
which is normal. Dr. Lottie Hachaambwa, an infectious
diseases specialist at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka

Vaginal drying agents might seem to be
effective because they can cause the
vaginal walls to swell, Hachaambwa says.
Once a woman stops using them, she can
get infections, possibly caused by using
the drying agents, which lead to
abnormal discharge. And that discharge
could lead her to use the drying agents
again, he says.
Women who experience abnormal
discharge could have fungal, bacterial
or sexually transmitted infections, he
says.
The use of vaginally-inserted drying
agents could also lead to HIV infection,
he says.
“Dry sex might increase the acquisition of
HIV and other sexually transmitted
diseases because of abrasions on the
vaginal walls,” Hachaambwa says. “If
skin is broken, HIV can be transmitted
more easily.”
But even without the risk of abrasions, a
dry vagina can pose other problems, he
says. Condoms can break if there’s not
enough lubrication.
But some women maintain that drying
agents are necessary for healthy sexual
relationships.

Linda, a 36-year-old woman who asked
that only her first name be used, says
her husband asked her to use herbs
after he complained that he didn’t
enjoy sex.
“I found (an) herbal remedy and it
helped,” Linda says.
Malambo, 30, who also asked that only
her first name be used, says she drinks
herbs to keep her body warm and her
vagina tight.
“I use them once in a while because I
am not married and I only have sex
once in a while,” she says. “I have grown
to know that men mistake a loose vagina
for promiscuity.”
Men favor a dry vagina, saying a
“loose” vagina is a put-off.
“How can you enjoy sex when you can’t
feel the walls of your woman?” says Luka
Banda.
Traditional marriage counselors support
the practice.
Iris Phiri, national coordinator for the
Zambia National Traditional Counselors
Association, says societal pressure has
forced women to use vagina drying herbs
to keep their men from cheating.
Phiri says most men don’t complain if
they are not enjoying sex, but instead
look elsewhere for satisfaction. It’s a
woman’s duty to keep the man, she says.
Up until about four years ago,
traditional counselors taught women to
insert herbs and salt crystals into their
vaginas, Phiri says. But with new
knowledge about how HIV is contracted,
that’s no longer the recommendation.
“We advise them to use oral herbs, eat
lemons or simply sit in cold water,” Phiri
says.