MWENYA’S DIARY

By Mwenya Mukuka.

The numbers are staggering. The pain is long term. The affect on society is deep reaching. May be the word ‘genocide’ can easily be made to fit this tragedy. And gender exploitation lies at the centre of the problem - AIDS in Zambia. History has it that, after Zambia’s first reported AIDS diagnosis in 1984 a rise in HIV prevalence has come forth. By the year 1993, surveys of pregnant women found infection rates of 27% in urban areas and 13-14% elsewhere. Unlike in the USA or Western Europe, HIV in Zambia is not primarily a disease of the most underprivileged; infection has not left the wealthy people and the better educated. Repeated statements have been that; HIV prevalence is considerably higher in urban areas than elsewhere. According to the Zambia Demographic and Health Survey of 2001-2002 preliminary reports, Lusaka recorded 25% of the women infected with HIV, among pregnant women; the highest rates were also recorded in the capital (home to 10% of the population), Kabwe and Ndola. Western Province’s capital, Mongu and the cross-border trading centres of Chipata and Livingstone a tourist resort had high infection rates. It has been estimated that urban areas then contained 23% of all adults living with HIV or AIDS. Prevalence data on HIV in Zambia come from testing pregnant women at antenatal clinics and population-based surveys in selected areas. Since 1990, some 36 sites have been included in national antenatal surveillance on at least one occasion. It should be noted that this does leave substantial gaps, including some of the larger towns. Statistics show that Biological and social factors make women and girls more vulnerable to AIDS than men, especially in adolescence and youth. In many places HIV infection in young women has been found to be 3-5 times higher than among boys. Violence or the threat of violence against women increases their vulnerability to HIV and reduces their ability to protect themselves against infection. Gender also plays a key role in the spread of HIV in three key areas: sexual assault, culture and development. The lack of control over sex, which many women experience, is nowhere more apparent than in societies in the midst of conflict or with uncontrollable crime problems. In countries with ten to twenty five percent infection rates, presumably higher among young male rapists, non-enforced laws and treaties concerning sexual violence do little to prevent the spread of HIV. Similarly, troops in Sudan, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and in the Congo have all been accused of using rape as a weapon of war. The conflict involving six African nations it is easy to see how armed conflict and male sexual violence are significant conduits for the spread of HIV throughout the continent. With an eye on African troops, the UN Security Council has sought to mandate HIV tests for all troops participating in peacekeeping operations a move that has been resisted by African nations upon concerns of privacy violations and discrimination against infected peacekeepers. As the governments of developing countries receive a relatively substantial stipend for the services of their armed forces, there are clear economic reasons for this resistance as well. The threat, however, is not just from HIV positive soldiers spreading the virus where they are stationed, but also from the real possibility that they will catch such while working internationally. The issue of culture come in so strongly. Many suggest that men are the primary cause of the AIDS epidemic. Some women rights activists have asserted that male promiscuity is a major source of the infection in homes. They say men have more partners than women, generally control when and how sex is conducted and is the driving force behind demand oriented prostitution. As a result of this perspective a trend should be set toward analysing and attempting to manipulate male values and identity as a solution to the AIDS crisis. The goal should be to move away from a masculinity that is tied directly to how many sexual partners one has, toward one of protecting yourself and your family. Again looking at it critically, this type of examination, however, identifies only one part of the problem, and ignores the poverty women face economically and powerlessness in negotiating sexual intimacy. The two, together, make women vulnerable to the unhealthy attitudes of men and should themselves be the focus of anti-AIDS efforts. Zambian HIV activists Professor Nkandu Luo noted at one point that ‘Boosting women’s power provides a proven barricade against the virus.’ This can come with a political will from governments and traditional leaders taking leading role. Traditional leaders in Africa get defensive at times in discussing HIV out of fear of supporting racist caricatures of hypersexual men in Africa and sexual frenzied African women. At the same time commentators, dancing the fine line between ignorance and racism, politely suggest that African traditions support polygamy, and thereby promiscuity, and consequently the spread of HIV. It is sad that in some societies men have continued to view sexual contact with many women as a sign of manhood. They say the more women - the more of a man you and some tend to believe that ‘live’ sex that is without a condom is the best saying a woman should feel the ‘heat of the mans bullets’. And for a poor woman, the poorer is, the less educated, the lower the ability to choose who to sleep with and the fewer rights she will have to negotiate for safe sex subsequently the higher the rates of HIV infection among women. The initiative by the Boy Empowerment International (BEI) a non-governmental organisation addressing the plight of the boy child in Zambia, to bring ‘boys’ together to discuss HIV is a welcome development. Because if men do not come in the open and discuss HIV/AIDS the result will be, a strong reluctance to discuss promiscuity among themselves and sexually transmitted diseases. BEI founder Mrs.Matildah Chikopela Lisita said ‘the open    discussions dubbed, Let the men Talk will make them change perceptions on issues like STIs.’ Lisita added ‘Like contracting STI is viewed as being the fault of the infected person, who is usually ostracized and condemned.’ With poverty leading to conflict, prostitution and the sugar daddy/mummy syndrome, the solution should be obvious - development is the answer. Sadly, this is not the case; all too often development has resulted in the increased economic exploitation and impoverishment of women and subsequently a reduction in their negotiating power in sexual relationships. Millions have died, millions more will die, and if the current situation is not addressed deaths of AIDS related will continue to occur at a faster pace. Non governmental Organisation coordinating council NGOCC board chairperson Lucy Muyoyeta said ‘lets put an end to High levels of poverty by putting up right policies, Violence against women Trafficking in women, High levels of prostitution and Cultural prohibitions on land ownership by wives.