2.3 Factors Responsible for the Spread of HIV and AIDS in Women
2.3.3. Culture and Religion
These definitions back up the fact that Christianity proved incapable of challenging patriarchal structures.
Like many other African societies, Zimbabwe is a patriarchal society where the male is regarded as the ruler and sovereign in the home and in public life. Patriarchy therefore, is dominant in the life of the people. As such, women, particularly in the area of St Alois Rural Mission Station, have not been spared from the mentality of the patriarchal system of male dominance. The control of women’s sexuality by men is one of the major tenets of patriarchy.
However, patriarchy may be positive if not abused. It may be of help in the running of family or community affairs if the male leadership treats women justly and views them as equally important.
Apart from gender inequality and patriarchy as factors leading to women’s vulnerability to HIV and AIDS, women are also facing the challenges of culture and religion as underlying causes that contribute to the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Kanyoro, (2002b) states that in the African indigenous thought system, culture and religion are not distinct from each other. Therefore, culture and religion embrace all areas of one’s total life.52
51 Messer, D. 2004. Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence: Christian Churches and the Global AIDS Crisis.
Minneapolis: MN Fortress Press, pg. 78.
52 Musimbi R. A. Kanyoro 2002b. “Engendered Communal Theology: Women’s Contribution to Theology in the 21st Century”, in N. J. Njoroge and M.W. Dube (eds), Talitha Cum! Theologies of African Women.
Pietermaritzburg: Cluster Publications, pg. 158.
This implies that when we want to try to understand gender, we first of all need to know that cultural and religious beliefs are the ones that give a stamp of approval to what is certainly a social construct. Indeed, culture and religion help to shape the meaning of gender and the two aspects help to maintain gender inequality because some of the abuse will be perpetrated in the name of culture and religion.
24 In her evaluation of culture, Kanyoro (2002a) says, “Culture is double-edged sword. In some instances, culture is like the creed for the community identity. In other instances, culture is the main justification for difference, oppression and injustice.53
An informal discussion with the elderly people in one of the local communities of St Alois Mission on issues of culture and religion, shows that many Shona people within the area are still rooted in cultural and traditional practices, and they try to maintain culture as best they can. According to the discussion, it reveals that up to the present day, some women in the area of St Alois are forced into widow inheritance where an older or younger brother of the deceased husband takes over the widow as his wife. This is said to take place as a way of ensuring the care and support of the widow as well as for the children of the deceased.
This explains therefore that even in the time of HIV and AIDS, there are some cultural practices within indigenous religions that expose women to the possibility of HIV infection.
54
Another cultural practice which is still common is the practice of polygamy. In many patriarchal cultures, a man is allowed to have more than one wife. African women theologians criticise polygamy, arguing that if a husband is infected, he exposes all his wives to HIV. The phenomenon of ‘small houses’
This confirms that women are totally dependent on men and therefore cannot raise children without the help of a male figure. Widow inheritance therefore means that if the man who inherits the widow was already married, he will end up having two wives. Yet in this era of HIV, having multiple sexual partners can fuel the infection rate, especially if one of the partners is already infected.
55 where married men have girlfriends is another version of polygamy. It too exposes women to HIV infection because on one hand, the girlfriend who is financially dependent on the sexual partner has limited opportunities of negotiating for safer sex. On the other hand, the official wife might either be unaware of the fact that her husband is having extra-marital relations and would therefore not feel any need for safer sex, or even if she is aware of it, she has no right or power to determine when and how sex with her husband is done.56
53 Musimbi R. A. Kanyoro.2002a. Introducing Feminist Cultural Hermeneutics: An African Perspective.
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, pg. 13.
54 Informal Discussion with the elderly individuals in the area of St Alois Catholic Rural Mission Station.
55 ‘Small house’ is term commonly used by Zimbabweans denoting informal, extra-marital relations.
56 Ezra Chitando. 2007, pg. 15.
This practice is still common in the area of St Alois
25 Catholic Rural Mission Station. Small houses continue to feature in some marriages.
Polygamy is practised by some individual families.
All these practices are undertaken in the name of culture and women cannot challenge such negative cultural practices simply because ‘it is culture’. As pointed out by Lutanga (2005),
“Culture calls for women to be silent about their pain, especially if speaking out will reveal the bad secrets about the family.”57 This observation is supported by Chirongoma (2006) when she emphasises the issue of culture and silence. She says, “The Shona culture is guided by proverbs that emphasize the significance of family secrets such that even when the husband is brutally violent; the wife has to bear it.”58
There are many genuine African values and practises that could be used in response to HIV and epidemic and argues that these include Africa’s concern with life, family value of educating children in the appreciation and proper use of their sexuality, community values of one another, the medical and healing values and the spiritual- religious values that focus on God’s power.
One of the most common of such proverbs is Nhumbu mukadzi mukuru, hairevi chayadya literally “the stomach is like an elderly woman, it does not reveal to anyone whatever it has swallowed”, whether sweet or bitter, so a woman should never reveal whatever good or bad she encounters in her marriage.
Most of the proverbs that were meant to keep family secrets were treated as part of culture.
From the way it all looks, these proverbs were meant to be observed mostly by women, while giving men the authority to abuse women or their own wives in the name of culture.
However, it should also be argued that not all cultures are bad. Waliggo (2006) is one of those theologians who defend the integrity of African culture. In reference to HIV and AIDS, he contends that:
59
57 Shaba Lutanga. 2005. Secrets of a Woman’s Soul. Harare: Sable Press (Pvt Ltd), pg. 75.
58 Sophie Chirongoma. 2006. 126/2, pg. 48-65.
59 John Mary Waliggo. 2005. “Inculturation and the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in the AMECEA Region”, African Ecclesial Review, 47 (4), and 48 (1), pg. 294.
This means that while culture may generally be viewed as a tool that is used to oppress women, the same culture can also be used to deal positively with HIV and AIDS issues. This can therefore, be a consolation especially to those women whose life is exposed to HIV and AIDS.
26 Having discussed gender inequality, patriarchy, culture and religion as some of the influential factors in the spread of HIV and AIDS to women, silence and sexuality cannot be ignored for their contribution to HIV infection on women. Let us then see how they fuel HIV and AIDS.