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Culture
as a conduit for HIV/AIDS
Godwin Banda
January 15, 2006
http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=10849&ThisURL=./aids.asp&URLName=AIDS%20and%20Health
In most African
societies today, there are some beliefs and institutions within
their cultural boundaries that act either as conduits in the spread
of HIV/AIDS or as reservoirs which help to harness and perpetuate
the pandemic. In Africa in general and Zambia in particular, there
may be many cultural reasons why women for example are particularly
more at risk.
Dangerous
customs
Generally
speaking, there are more women than men infected with HIV/AIDS,
which is mainly due to the fact that women are more prone to the
infections than men, because of their physiological makeup, a subject
that is beyond the scope of this paper. However, it can be safely
mentioned here, that apart from the physiological aspect, women
are more infected by HIV/AID5 because they lack complete control
over their lives because they are taught from early childhood and
in initiation ceremonies to be obedient and submissive to men, especially
those men that command power such as husbands and fathers.
In most African
customs women are told never to refuse having sex with their husbands
regardless of the number of other partners he may have and even
when he is suspected of having HIV/AID5 or other Sexually Transmitted
Diseases (STDs).
5ince heterosexual
contact is the major mode of HIV/AIDS transmission, the demands
of this custom does not only expose the women to the risk of contracting
the disease but also helps in the spread of the deadly virus. This
is made worse by the fact issues like marital rapes are unheard
of in these societies, as well as the fact that the majority of
African women depend on their husbands for their economic well-being.
There is always that fear in an African woman that, should she deny
her husband sex, he would withdraw his economic support to her.
In sexual relationships,
a woman. is expected to please her male partner even at the expense
of her own pleasure and well-being. For example, in most of these
customs, it is believed that men enjoy dry sex more, and in order
to please their men, women tend to venture into risky therapies
such as inserting herbs and special traditional preparations. The
women have also been said to perform such practices as sitting in
bleaches, fertilizers, tobacco or salty water, which causes the
tissues of the linings to swell up and dry the natural lubricants.
These chemicals tend to tear, inflame and damage the linings thus
doubling the risk of HIV infection on exposure to viruses.
The women do
all these risky techniques not because they like them, but because
there is that fear and insecurity that if they do not perform as
expected, they risk being rejected. in societies whose customs talk
so highly about dry sex. This has resulted in an unprecedented increase
in HIV/AIDS transmission.
Lack
of choice
Similarly,
in most African societies, a woman can not choose which man she
would love to marry, let alone approach a man to marry her. This
has, in most cases, resulted in women getting married to men they
do not love. This amounts to oppression, as there is loss of dignity
for women. This, in most cases, culminates into unhappy marriages.
These unhappy marriages are usually fertile grounds for people to
get involved in extramarital affairs, which are themselves very
fertile grounds for the transmission of the HIV viruses.
Unhappy marriages
more often than not result in broken marriages and when the divorced
remarry, theyt further spread the virus to their new spouses and
most likely to their newly born.
Circumcision
Another
cultural problem that has exacerbated the spread of HIV/AIDS in
African society is the issue of female circumcision. This practice,
which is aimed at reducing or removing sexual desire among young
girls before they get married, exposes the girls to HIV/AIDS as
most of the times the circumcisers use the same instrument to conduct
the operation on a group of girls without sterilizing it.
For those societies
that practice boys' initiation ceremonies, the tendency by the teachers
is often to make the boys believe that their being recognised as
real men depends on the exhibition of their sexual capabilities:
It is not uncommon for boys in these ceremonies to be told that
to be a real man, you needed to live like a cock, which is always
surrounded, by a number of hens. Such teachings could be blamed
for the mushrooming of polygamous marriages that are, to a large
extent, reservoirs for HIV vlrus.
Sexual
cleansing
Widow
inheritance and sexual cleansing are yet the other cultural practices
that create a favourable environment for the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Widow or widower inheritance means entering into a new sexual relationship
by men and women whose partners died and some could have died of
AIDS. These will automatically transmit the disease to one who was
negative before the inheritance. This is made worse by beliefs in
some societies that if the inherited woman wears some herbs around
her waist she would not contract or spread the disease to the new
partner even if she or the inheriting partner had HIV.
As for the sexual
cleansing, mostly people, especially women, perform it to stay in
line with the dictates of culture. There is usually fear that,
if they refused to conduct sexual cleansing they risk being rejected
in society.
There is also
fear that the ghost of the deceased will forever follow those who
refuse to carry out the ritual. This makes sexual cleansing as one
of the greatest medium for the spread of HIV as the people who perform
this ritual are not even tested for HIV/AIDS. .Worse still after
the cleansing the one cleansing and the one cleansed are free to
marry other people to whom they again spread the disease.
In most African
societies, especially in rural areas, the belief is that HIV/AIDS
is transmitted by women. HIV positive women are treated differently
from men. Men in most cases are likely to be "excused" for the behaviour
that led to their infection, whereas women are not. It is not uncommon
to hear in-laws blaming their son's illness on their daughter-in-law.
This in most cases 'results in victimisation of women.
Due to the social
taboos on discussing issues related to sex in homes' and even among
me_ and women, many people are not aware that they could be having
a problem of HIV/AIDS. These taboos associated with discussing sex
have prevented men and women from accessing facilities such as
the Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT), which could
enable them know their status and therefore take necessary measures.
These social taboos have left people with very few choices of helping
themselves out of the misery-of HIV/AIDS. ?
Traditional
healers
Usually
people find themselves resorting to the most culturally accepted
ways of going about the Pandemic i.e. going to traditional healers.
As much as I appreciate the work being done by these – traditional
doctors, their work stills falls short, as they do not have verifiable
mechanisms for conducting HIV tests. Similarly, one cannot avoid
disbelieving the effectiveness of their medicines, as . it is common
to find one type of medicine prescribed for a lot of different
ailments. The medicine give to one with swollen eyes, for example,
could also be prescribed for some one with full-blown HIV/AIDS!
The insistence
on consulting traditional healers has in most cases resulted in-delays
in seeking orthodox medical attention; as a result people continue
being ignorant about their status and hence continue spreading the
disease indiscriminately,
Perhaps the
worst contribution that some of these traditional healers have made
towards the fight against HIV/AIDS is in making their clients believe
that AIDS can be cured by having sex with minors. This, has resulted
in the increasing number of children who have been sexually abused
and the spreading of Sexually Transmitted' Diseases (STDs)
to the minors.
Having said
all that, this article is not implying that all aspects of African
culture are bad and that all Western cultures are good. The article
is merely aimed at outlining some bad practices, which if continuously
adhere to, may result in the wiping out of the very people the culture
is trying to safeguard.
On the other hand, there is no culture that is perfect. Among the
bad cultures largely coming from outside Africa are the promotion
of homosexuality, promotion. of pornographic materials as well as
advocating for the use of condoms in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
In my opinion condoms may just be giving people false hopes, as
even the people who are advocating their use have said openly that
the use of condoms is not 100% safe. So why put your life in a rubber
sheath?
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