Malawian sexual cleansing ritual leave Madge horrified

Washington, Apr 29 : Madonna was left gob-smacked when she came to know about a weird sexual cleansing ritual involving young widows in Malawi, especially as the custom triggered the spread of AIDS in the country.

The Material Girl has mentioned the African custom in her new documentary 'I Am Because We Are'.

The superstar adopted her son David in 2006 from the African nation, and concedes that she found some of the customs severely inhumane.

One of the segments of the film revealed that a young widow is forced to have sex three times with a stranger from outside her village as part of a cleansing ritual.

"When this woman's husband dies of Aids, she is required by the village head tribal chief to go through this sexual cleansing," Contactmusic quoted Madonna, as saying.

She added: "Until she does, basically the village is, like, at a standstill. And, if she refuses to do it, she will be ostracised by everyone."

ANI