Culture and law are deeply intertwined aspects of society, each influencing and shaping the other in significant ways.
For starters, culture influence law, when it involves norms and values, and traditions and customs. It can also affect the law if religion is involved. Culture can also affect the law when it involves social dynamics.
On the other way around, the law protects cultural heritage and its intellectual property, and that it also ensures the freedom of expression, and retain diversity and people's rights.
While culture frequently influences the law, there are some things that culture cannot change.
One of the things, is the transmission of the chronic immune system known to many, as HIV.
A man from Malawi made headlines for his involvement in a controversial cultural practice, that landed him a prison sentence.
His name is Eric Aniva, a man who is also known as a "hyena."
The man was involved in a highly controversial practice, in which he is paid to have sexual relations, including sexual intercourse, with more than 100 women and young girls, since 1985.
The practice in Malawi, is referred to as a sexual "cleansing practices," a practice held at some remote southern regions of the country, where girls have to have sex with a man after reaching puberty, right after their first menstruation.
Some of the girls are as young as 12 years old.
These girls' parents and families often tell the girls that they will get infections if they don't have sex with a hyena.
Also, they are often told that their skin will dry and become brittle if they do not conclude the initiation.
This sexual cleansing practice isn't limited to just young girls, because according to local beliefs, a widow should also have sex with another man before she could even bury her deceased husband. If her husband has died within six months of her giving birth, she may have to have sex with a hyena before becoming sexually active again. If the mother does not have sex then, it is believed her baby might get sick, develop mental disorders or die.
Similarly, if a woman has an abortion, sexual ‘cleansing’ is also required.
Eric, who is also known as the "hyena," is a man-for-hire-to-do-the-deeds, is paid to have sex with pretty much all kinds of women and girls, even those who can no longer become pregnant.
According to the culture and local beliefs, sexual intercourse is seen as a sacred rite when performed as a ritual, and when it's done, it has the power to cleanse evil spirits and sanctify.
And for the sex acts, there is no limit to what a hyena can or cannot do.
Furthermore, unprotected sex is considered part of the ritual.
In the region, the practice is considered as a form of "removal of dust" in the name of "kusasa fumbi".
According to the BBC that made Eric Aniva a world-renown name, Eric is one of 10 hyenas in the Nsanje district, where he lives, and is paid from $4 to $7 for each session, which lasts for 3 days.
At the time, Eric is in his 40s, and has two wives.
But what's worth noting here, the sexual cleansing practice is more rural than tradition.
This sexual cleansing practice is practiced most commonly in the southern part of Malawi, and can also be found in parts of Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, Ivory Coast and Congo.
While a hyena is a literally a sex worker, sexual cleansing can also be performed by other men, like selected future husband for a young girl, or by the deceased husband's brother or other relative for a widow.
But hyenas are preferred because they are chosen for their moral character and are believed to be incapable of catching diseases.
It's worth noting that in 2015, Malawi started banning child marriage, and raised the legal age of marriage from 15 to 18. Activists hoped that this would put an end to early sexual initiations.
But again, the culture made (allowed) Eric to do what he does.
Until it's realized that he is HIV-positive.
In the interview with the BBC, Eric admits that he has the virus.
While Eric said that he wanted to stop the practice and stop being a hyena, he kept on doing it, partly for financial reasons.
When the BBC article went viral, Eric is then arrested, on the President's orders.
He is arrested not only for practicing the practice that should no longer be practiced, but most notably, he is arrested for not disclosing that he is HIV-positive to his "clients."
"While we must promote positive cultural values and positive socialization of our children, the president says harmful cultural and traditional practices cannot be accepted in this country," presidential spokesman Mgeme Kalilani said in a statement
Eric Aniva would "further be investigated for exposing the young girls to contracting HIV and further be charged accordingly," he said.
The President had also ordered all men and parents involved to be investigated, Kalilani added.
"All people involved in this malpractice should be held accountable for subjecting their children and women to this despicable evil," the statement said.
"These horrific practices although done by a few also tarnish the image of the whole nation of Malawi internationally and bring shame to us all."
President Peter Mutharika ordering his arrest in July.
Mutharika said it is totally unacceptable to commit such violations under the guise of culture.
The police said that they're also ready to arrest the remaining hyenas.
"More names of perpetrators and victims are coming out. We will not divulge much information on our investigations and we cannot reveal the identity of the victims to respect their right to dignity, but we are ready to arrest all people that are involved in the malpractice,” said National Police spokesperson Nicholas Gondwa.
Not only the hyenas, because parents and relatives of the underage girls who surrender the girls to the hyenas can also be charged.
And not only that, because village elders can also be hold accountable.
The majority of villages and rural areas in Malawi where the practice happens, they have an elderly woman called “anamkungwi”.
These elderly women are believed to have expertise in sexual and reproductive health issues.
Apart from their roles as traditional birth attendees, they also act as chief counselors to young initiates who undergo the practice of sexual cleansing.
These women said to the parents and their young girls, that sexual cleansing is needed to give the girls new experiences and pleasures. According to the anamkungwi, the girls will suffer great misfortune or become diseased sooner than later, if they don't have intercourse with these men.
The young girls cannot resist themselves from having sexual intercourse with the hyena men as it is an important part of their culture.
After all, in the region, the girls are believed to mandatorily learn how to satisfy partners at a young age and because of that, adults, including the community at large, expect the same from these girls.
Hyena man Eric is then convicted, and had to serve a two-year prison term.
This rather short sentence happens because the President wanted Eric to be tried on defiling young girls, but none of the young girls Eric has sex with came forward and testified against him.
The only people who testified against Eric, are older women, widows Eric "cleansed."
Because of this, Eric was only tried for "harmful cultural practice" under section five of Malawi's Gender Equality Act, for having sex with new widows.
After serving his sentence, Eric sought to sue the government, claiming his conviction was wrongful and based on a cultural practice supported by local chiefs and the community.
He pleaded innocent by also saying that the cultural practice has existed for more than a century, and argued that none of the women he slept with complained about it.
“I dared to reveal what I have been practicing. But my arrest, prosecution, and even imprisonment will not stop others from practicing a custom which has been in existence for [more than] 100 years,” he said.
Eric's attorney, Michael Goba Chipeta, said he would appeal against the conviction and the sentence.
It's worth noting that government officials who clearly said that they do not endorse the traditions, also show that they do not actively campaign against them either.
"We are not going to condemn these people. But we are going to give them information that they need to change their rituals," said May Shaba, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Gender and Welfare.
In response to this case, one of the village elders, Chrissie, said: "There's nothing wrong with our culture.
"If you look at today's society, you can see that girls are not responsible, so we have to train our girls in a good manner in the village, so that they don't go astray, are good wives so that the husband is satisfied, and so that nothing bad happens to their families."
This case has sparked international debate on cultural practices, gender equality, and human rights.
It also caught international media attention due to how controversial the practice is. It created sharply divided opinion as to how widespread the practice remains.
Not only that the sexual cleansing process to young girls between 12–17 is painful due to the girls' under-developed genital organs, it also plays a big role in increasing the number of HIV/AIDS in those African countries where it is practiced.
Because the use of condoms is strictly restricted due to the belief of exchanging sexual fluids, apart from the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, another severe consequence of sexual cleansing is unwanted or unexpected pregnancy the young girls can suffer. Furthermore, pregnancy and childbirth as a result of sexual cleansing are the leading cause of girls’ death in these areas