Initiation in the province has been thrown into chaos by a court ruling which revealed a serious loophole in the Eastern Cape Customary Male Initiation Act, No 5, of 2016, a rare law drawn up and passed by the Bhisho legislature. The court has contradicted the core goal of the law — to outlaw circumcision of youths under the age of 18, by finding that the law itself permits under age circumcision if there is signed parental consent.