A virgin man, Callitxe Nzamwita has revealed why he spent 55 years hiding from women.

According to reports, the man who remained a virgin till the age of 71 has managed to barricade himself inside his home for 55 years to avoid women.

Nzamwita erected a 15-foot fence around his home in Rwanda to keep women and members of public away from him.

The 71-year-old admitted he was "really scared" of women coming up to his home, hence the isolation.

Despite his fear, it is local women who are keeping the man alive and helping him survive. They get his groceries for him but he does not let the women anywhere close to him.

He said: "The reason I locked myself inside here and have a fence on my house is because I want to make sure that women will not come closer to me."

An unnamed local added: "Strangely, even though he fears women, we are the ones who help him get food and some things he needs. When you try to help him, he doesn't want us to come close or talk to him.

"Instead, we give him things by tossing them into his house, and then he comes and picks them up. He doesn't let us get close to him, but he still takes what we offer from a distance."

If he spots a woman on their way to the property, Callitxe promptly shuts himself inside and locks the door behind him.

The virgin is believed to be suffering from gynophobia, an irrational fear of women.

Symptoms can be triggered merely by thinking of women. Panic attacks, tightness in the chest, profuse sweating, a rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing, are all listed as potential symptoms.

Feeling faint and stomach troubles when near the opposite sex are other symptoms of gynophobia.

Despite their day-to-day help, the women of the village cannot converse with Callitxe, who cowers away from women when they approach.