Mennonite Weekly Review

The toll on women and girls presents Africa and the world with a practical and moral challenge, which places gender at the centre of the human condition. The practice of ignoring gender analysis has turned out to be lethal.

— Stephen Lewis, U.N. Secretary- General’s Envoy to Africa

Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, women have moved from being least affected by the disease to the most affected.

A recent World Health Organization reiterated this trend by declaring that HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for women ages 15-44. Women are now the face of HIV/AIDS worldwide.

What accounts for this trend? For starters, women are physiologically more vulnerable to contracting the disease. Further, the intersection of poverty, gender inequality and lack of human rights directly contribute to the impact of HIV/AIDS on women.

Lack of education and traditional gender roles continue to leave women subordinate to men in many places around the world. In addition to creating power inequities, financial dependence on men constricts a woman’s ability to negotiate condom use. They are also not empowered to reject sexual advances.

Even if a woman knows that her partner is HIV-positive, she is often unable to insist on safe sex practices or leave the relationship for economic reasons. Women therefore reap the consequences of HIV that are a result of men’s decisions.

In addition to greater vulnerability for contracting HIV/AIDS, women often bear the burden of caring for sick family members. This translates into less time for other vital tasks.

In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, women are the main producers of food. Efforts to provide household water, fuel and food are hampered when women divert time and energy from these tasks toward caring for sick husbands, children and relatives. Lower food production is the result.

Even if a woman does not contract HIV/AIDS, she is invariably affected in the short and long term by its consequences.