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During a side event at the 57th UN
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on March 4, ministers from Ghana,
Liberia, and Zimbabwe elucidated upon the problem of violence and infection in
their countries. They recommended to advocates that the UN’s CSW outcome
document should emphasize the link between gender-based violence and HIV
infections. The ministers urged that this document also should include
information on governments providing effective measures to prevent violence
against women as well as information on treating women who have been infected
with HIV through sexual abuse. The inclusion of such passages in the final CSW
document is still under discussion.
Julia Duncan-Cassell, Liberia’s
gender minister, declared that the CSW afforded a chance to lobby for action.
She stated, "Increasingly, violence is being recognized as a cause and
consequence of HIV, and that's important, particularly for women and
girls."
Nana Oye Lithur, Ghana's gender
minister, stated that, in spite of education, some Ghanaian women still find it
challenging to negotiate contraception with their partners. Lithur said that
there are still traditional practices in existence that compel women to marry a
brother-in-law if her husband has died, as well as the belief that a woman
needs to have sex with a stranger to expel the disease of a dead husband. Women
are thus powerless and HIV is easily spread.
Zimbabwe Deputy Prime Minister
Thokozani Khupe spoke of the importance of education in addressing violence
against women, emphasizing the needs of women living with HIV. She noted that
rural women are especially vulnerable and need better support. In Zimbabwe,
women carry babies on their backs and farm the fields using primitive tools for
most of the day. They need to be empowered. Khupe declared, "Once you
empower [women], issues of HIV and gender-based violence will be a thing of the
past."
Sheila Tlou, director of the UNAIDS
regional support team for east and southern Africa, told event attendees that
gender equality was still a faraway dream for many. She exclaimed, "We
need to change attitudes, even among women themselves. Women need to know their
human rights." She declared that, unless gender equality is achieved, the
UNAIDS concept of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero
AIDS-related deaths will remain an unfulfilled ambition.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
