WOMEN, HIV/AIDS AND SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS AND PRACTICES

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ZIMBABWE IN THE GRIP OF HIV/AIDS

Zimbabwe is one of the worst hit countries by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Currently, she is one of the nerve centers of HIV/AIDS (Mhloyi 2001:146). Death is now a daily, hourly and often per second occurrence. Never in the country’s history has death become such a daily occurrence. The following words have become a daily cry, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, may his/her soul rest in peace. These words, almost clichés now, to most Zimbabweans are uttered many times a day by pastors, reverends and other senior clergy at graveyards.

WOMEN’S VULNERABILITY TO HIV/AIDS

The vulnerability of Zimbabwean women to HIV/AIDS is a fact that has been identified. According to Izumi (2006:1) “it is a well-known fact that women and girls are especially vulnerable to HIV infection”. The above point is reiterated by Parker et al (2000:104) who note that “there is evidence that women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is rapidly rising in both developed and developing countries”. Earlier studies have tended to classify commercial sex workers and drug traffickers as the people at risk of contracting the deadly HIV/AIDS. Oyefara (2005:2) concedes that “most of the studies focused on vulnerable groups such as urban youth, long distance drivers, commercial sex workers and uniformed forces”.

Women and HIV/AIDS: A Gendered Perspective

It is more than twenty years since the first HIV/AIDS case in Zimbabwe was diagnosed. Since then Zimbabwe has travelled an arduous trip in its bid to grapple with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. To date, women have become the fastest growing group of people with AIDS (Benzef and Bellamy 1988). The above point is highlighted by NAC (2003: 13) that notes that “…women and men, girls and boys have experienced the HIV and AIDS epidemic very differently.” The report’s premise is that women and girls have borne most of the brunt of HIV/AIDS.

SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS THAT INHIBIT BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE

The subject of women and HIV/AIDS has torched a lot of controversy over why it has been neglected worldwide for a long time. Various reasons have been advanced to date for the lack of commitment by research institutes to tackle HIV/AIDS and women but none has been conclusive. Studies have been carried out in high profile countries in the modern world but nothing has been comprehensively done for Zimbabwean women today. It should be noted that Zimbabwe is not different and unusual from other African countries in the extent of sexual attitudes, practices and norms that 75 enhance the risk of HIV spread (Jackson 2002:81).

The Discourse of Male Power

Zimbabwean society is largely patriarchal hence power is vested in the males. To the majority of men, women should stay in servitude and honour the men who they believe are more powerful. Ogundipe-Leslie (1994:209) captures the feeling among African men and notes that “African men seem to be riled by the idea of equality between men and women. They are not opposed to equal opportunity, equal pay for equal work or equal education but with equality between men and women they are uncomfortable. They say how can men and women be equal? Many love the story of the five unequal fingers of the hand.

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The Discourse of Violence.

Violence against women has been found to paralyse women against taking health steps towards good reproductive health. Mapimhidze (2006: 7) notes that “…at least one in four women in Zimbabwe was subject to some form of domestic violence but the figure could be higher at the moment”. The extent of the problem is deep and its consequences have been found to be dire. According to Zeidenstein and Moore (1996:38) “gender based violence and underlying sexual repression are the primary obstacles to reaching satisfactory levels of sexual and reproductive health among women.”

TABLE OF CONTENTS :

  • Dedication
  • Acknowledgement
  • Abstract
  • Key Terms
  • List of Acronyms
  • CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTON AND ORIENTATION
    • 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
    • 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
    • 1.3 TENTATIVE HYPOTHESIS
    • 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
    • 1.5 AIM AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
    • 1.6 THE RESEARCH PROCEDURE AND TECHNIQUES
    • 1.7 CONCEPTUALISATION
    • 1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
    • 1.9 PRESENTATION OF THE STUDY THROUGHOUT THE THESIS
    • 1.10 VALUE OF THE STUDY
  • CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF STUDY
    • 2.1 INTRODUCTION
    • 2.2 FUNCTIONALISM
    • 2.3 GENDER DEVELOPMENT THEORY
    • 2.4 THEORIES AND MODELS OF BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE
      • 2.4.1 Diffusion of Innovation Theory
      • 2.4.2 Social Learning or Socialisation
      • 2.4.3 Social Network Theory
      • 2.4.4 Exchange Theory
      • 2.4.5 Cultural Transmission Theory
  • CHAPTER 3 WOMEN, HIV/AIDS AND SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS AND PRACTICES
    • 3.1 INTRODUCTION
    • 3.2 THE ORIGIN OF HIV/AIDS
    • 3.3 THE WORLD, AFRICA AND HIV/AIDS: AN OVERVIEW
    • 3.4 ZIMBABWE IN THE GRIPS OF HIV/AIDS
    • 3.5 WOMEN’S VULNERABILITY TO HIV/AIDS
      • 3.5.1 Women and HIV/AIDS: A Gendered Perspective
    • 3.6 SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS THAT INHIBIT BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
  • CHAPTER
    • THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
    • 4.1 INTRODUCTION
    • 4.2 THE RESEARCH DESIGN
    • 4.3 SELECTION OF STUDY AREAS
    • 4.4 FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS
      • 4.4.1 Advantages of Focus Group Discussions
    • 4.2 Disadvantages
    • 4.5 THE SURVEY
      • 4.5.1 Advantages of Surveys
      • 4.5.2 Disadvantages of Surveys
    • 4.6 PRETESTING THE QUESTIONNAIRE
    • 4.7 IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS
    • 4.8 SAMPLING
      • 4.8.1 Population
      • 4.8.2 Sample
      • 4.8.3 Sampling Procedure
    • 4.9 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF INSTRUMENTS
      • 4.9.1 Validity of Instruments
      • 4.9.2 Reliability of Instruments
    • 4.10 DATA ANALYSIS
    • 4.11 CONCLUSION
  • CHAPTER 5 FINDINGS OF DATA GATHERED
  • CHAPTER 6 FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS*

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SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS AND PRACTICES THAT IMPEDE UPON BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE OF ZIMBABWEAN WOMEN IN AN ERA OF HIV/AIDS

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