A Zimbabwean politician has asserted that women should be compelled to bathe less and shave off their hair to make them less attractive, which would help curb the spread of HIV.

Senator Morgan Femai told a conference that he believed the killer disease had spread as men found it difficult to resist attractive and well-dressed women according to a report on the New Zimbabwe website.

The politician reportedly insisted that new laws should be drawn up forcing women to make themselves less attractive to save men from themselves.

Addressing a parliamentary workshop on HIV awareness, Senator Femai compared his plan to some Christian sects whose women he said also sometimes had clean-shaven heads.

"What I propose is that the government should come up with a law that compels women to have their heads clean-shaven like what the Apostolic sects do," he said

"They should also not bath because that is what has caused all these problems."

The politician compounded his comments by explaining his belief that moisture inside women's bodies made them more vulnerable to the HIV virus.

"Women have got more moisture in their organs as compared to men, so there is need to research how to deal with that moisture because it is conducive for bacteria breeding," he said.

"There should be a way to suck out that moisture."

The senator's scientifically unproven remarks have sparked outrage and disbelief in Zimbabwe.

Hundreds of concerned readers posted comments on local media websites in which they criticised his comments. (ANI)