Zimbabwean teen circumcises himself using a panga after friends mock him that he won’t attract girls

 The teen was taunted by friends [Photo: Courtesy]

A teenager used a machete to circumcise his penis after giving in to peer pressure.

The boy performed the gruesome self-surgery after his friends mocked him and said he wouldn't be able to attract girls because he wasn't circumcised.

The teen was rushed to a local hospital after he cut himself with the large blade and spent two days receiving treatment.

A doctor said he doesn't understand why the teen tried to circumcise himself because he could have been visited by a voluntary circumcision team at home.

Doctors treated the boy's wounds at St Lukes Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe's Lupane District after last week's incident.

Dr Nyasha Masuka, medical director of Matabeleland North Province, confirmed the boy tried to cut off the foreskin of his penis after he was mocked by his friends.

The doctor told the news website My Zimbabwe : "It seems the other boys were laughing at him for not being circumcised so he used a machete to circumcise himself and he injured himself in the process.

"He was rushed to St Lukes Hospital where the health staff circumcised him."

Dr Masuka said the boy could have avoided injury by being circumcised by a team of healthcare workers that visits local homes.

Dr George Mature, medical officer for Lupane district, said patients at the hospital were shocked by the boy's "bravery".

He said: "The patients who were admitted with him were wondering how he managed to do it.

"The good thing is that he wounded the outer layer of the foreskin. So we had to keep him at the hospital to monitor him as he had used a clinically inappropriate tool so we were worried that it could have caused an infection."