CHAPTER 4: NOTIONS OF MASCULINITY IN THE ERA OF HIV/AIDS
4.4 Harsh Living Conditions impacting notions of Masculinity
“Men do not have access to jobs here, and there is a lot of discrimination. It is even difficult for us, with a university degree and good curricula, to get a job. But women can easily get one”
(Urban non-married male, IDI # 17)
This quote may lead to two different interpretations regarding the competition for employment between men and women. The first is that when some gender oriented policies are implemented in order to challenge the structural gender inequalities, they may be perceived negatively by men.
The second is that the respondent seems to suggest that for a woman it does not matter whether or not she has the qualifications to secure a job, as long as she is a woman she will get it. The underlying idea is that women may use their gender to secure employment. This stereotyped view may gain support in a labour market dominated by males.
In addition, the lack of employment also may lead to corrupt practices (or to what people perceive as unfair treatment) where the unemployed are forced to pay officials bribes in order to secure employment. This is illustrated in the in-depth interviews.
“We have problems of jobs. There are no jobs here. To get a job you have to pay first.
When you go to local authorities to ask for a ‘declaration’ (reference letter) they charge you a lot of money. For example, they know that I do not have that money, but as I need that declaration I have to get money anywhere and anyhow”
(Urban non-married male, IDI # 16)
Indeed, some men reported that they had to engage in sometime illicit activities to pay the bribes which will allow them to secure employment and this puts them under enormous financial stress.
The harsh living conditions may also impact negatively on their families. Some respondents highlighted that there are some families which manage to survive, but it is usually a minority.
The following comment summarizes such a view.
“There are many pressures here. Families face many challenges; there is a lack of financial resources for their survival. The unemployment rate is very high. Of course that is not general, there are some families that manage to survive, but they are the minority because if we look at the district, not only in its headquarters, we see a lot of pressure, hunger and misery”
(Rural married male, IDI # 11)
Some respondents view the harsh living conditions (including the high levels of unemployment and poverty) as increasing vulnerability to risky behaviours including sexual risk taking. This association was drawn in one rural focus group discussions as the quote below illustrates.
“The main problem we face here is poverty. People are poor which makes them vulnerable to many problems including AIDS. Other problem is early marriage. Children get married at an early age because of their living conditions. In addition, poverty leads ‘our’
women to look for other means of gaining a living like sex”
(Rural married males, FGD # 12) From the quotes above it can noted that the harsh living conditions make some men to engage in risky behaviours, particularly crime and drug abuse while the harsh living conditions sometimes push women to engage in transactional sex. These practices, in turn, may enhance risky sexual behaviours, which increases the risk of HIV infection. Indeed, when the respondents say “poverty leads ‘our’ women to look for other means of gaining a living like sex” this suggests that women are forced into transactional sex in order to survive.
The perspective of women
In both focus group discussions and in-depth interviews the women highlighted similar reasons raised by men regarding the factors which lead men to engage in risky behaviour. According to these women, male risky behaviours such as multiple sexual partnerships in particular and infidelity results from gender socialization (including what it means to be a man) which legitimates the risky sexual practices of men. Indeed, it seems that there exists two competing
views about what it means to be a man, although these views are not necessarily mutually exclusive. One associates manhood with loyalty, respect, hard work, family care and social responsibility. The other associates manhood with socio-economic and financial success.
However, multiple sexual partners can also be associated with both economic success and ‘loose’
moral values, defined here as a set of practices or social conduct which can be regarded as socially unacceptable by some segments of society, particularly women. For this particular case, loose moral values could be characterized by lack of sexual responsibility. For example the following quote highlights irresponsibility as one of the defining features of “today’s men”
“Men of today are different from the men of the past because, for instance, men actually are not loyal, they do not believe in what they say either. Sometimes they say that they do not want to do something wrong, but they get influenced by others”.
(Urban non-married females, FGD # 10)
Meanwhile, the prevailing socio-economic and living conditions in the study areas are perceived as impacting differently on men and women. For example, some women felt that if a man does not work or earn an income this happens because of his own fault, unlike women who generally are not educated, therefore they cannot find employment.
“The problem of unemployment and poverty in this area does not have the same burden for men and women. A man is supposed to work. If he does not work, he may not be fine mentally. But for women it is very difficult to find a job. Many women are not educated like myself. God did not bless women. A woman was born to suffer. But if a man does not work, he does not want to work. He just suffers from his own inability”
(Rural non-married female, IDI # 04)
This quote provides two important insights regarding the social consequences of gender inequalities in the study areas and maybe within the Mozambique’s society at large. One of the consequences is unequal access to opportunities. The lack of opportunities and their low socio- economic status makes some women feel powerless to change their situation. However, for this
respondent, it is inconceivable that a man could just remain without a job or a source of income.
This interpretation is not surprising since men are seen as the provider and the main breadwinner.
According to these female respondents, a man should at all costs, continue to fulfill his role as provider. Such views may exacerbate the social pressure on men to engage in risky activities.
The second view is that women are the most disadvantaged social group, particularly because they do not have access to education. This perception of woman as lacking an education is of particular interest. For example, the respondent perceives that women have relatively few economic opportunities. In addition, one of the obvious consequences of gender inequalities is that a woman may exchange sex for economic support. This seems to be happening in the study areas with severe negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes.
Furthermore, socio-economic difficulties were mentioned by the female respondents as contributing to an increase in crime and substance abuse by men. In this regard, they complained that women were often soft targets for criminals. They also talked about sexual assault. This was blamed on the rise of unemployment in the study areas.
“In this neighbourhood we are victims of robberies at gun point. For instance, yesterday, there was a house which was broken into. It was terrible. Sometimes people are assaulted at bus stops, and those who suffer the most are those coming back from school or work at night”.
(Urban non-married females, FGD # 17)
“There is a lot of crime. For example, people who attend evening classes are constantly robbed, raped. There is a lot of violence. Girls and young women are those who suffer the most. When they meet a girl they steal their bags; their clothes are taken as well including their mobile phones”
(Urban non-married females, FGD # 10)