HIV/Aids

Unfortunately no blog on life in S.A. would be complete without an entry on HIV/Aids. I of course knew that HIV/Aids was widespread in S.A. but I hadn’t realised that this illness cut across racial and class boundaries, i.e. I was V surprised to hear that HIV/Aids was as prevalent within those who are educated as well as those who aren’t. I found this shocking because, if you know how to prevent getting such an illness, why wouldn’t you then do your best to prevent yourself from getting it –i.e. wearing a condom. It really is a battle in S.A. to educate people about the illness and how to prevent it spreading. I mean, there is such education out there in some circles, but it doesn’t seem to be having as such a huge impact on the problem as you would expect and hope.
It really can’t help when powerful people, such as the their President Jacob Zuma, openly admit they don’t wear condoms when they sleep with people who they know have it –recently he openly stated that he slept with a prostitute who he knew had the illness and he didn’t use a condom but he did have a shower afterwards! What an idiot! And I don’t mean just what an idiot because he could be spreading the illness personally, but what an idiot because as president he is a leading, influential powerful man who others may imitate and (by saying what he did) he doesn’t seem to have any care for that and so is basically encouraging others to do the same and therefore probably catch and spread the disease too. (Interestingly, Zuma wont admit publically if he has HIV/Aids or not, leading me to suspect he has)

The other main problem is that there is still such a stigma related to the disease so people don’t want to talk about it at all. The Anglican Church out there is trying to work against this and so encouraging their ministers to teach about how to prevent catching it and also to encourage others not to discriminate against those who do have it. There is currently an effort within the Church called ‘Know your Status’, encouraging Christians to know their status with regards HIV/Aids as many people don’t even know if they have it or not. The Church is creating days where people can be tested freely and there are pictures up of such days with people like Bishops being tested. Sadly though, some Christians do not want to talk about the illness, condoms or sex at all within the Church.

(Another problem which wasn’t talked about but which I suspect (after witnessing life out there, especially beliefs and values) happens out there, is that some from more traditional cultures still carry an old-fashioned sexist view of sexual relationships –i.e. that the sexual part of a relationship is purely for procreation and/or the male to enjoy at the woman’s expense, so, for a woman in a relationship to rejected the offer of sex or to ask the man to wear a condom, is virtually unthinkable. Some women I met from more traditional African cultures were adamant that they never wanted to get married and I suspect this was because they knew marriage would mean an expectation of a subservient and domestic role in all aspects of their life.
This is a generalisation though and by no means do all feel like that.)

So it is of course good that education about HIV/Aids is happening, though of course this needs to continue and much more needs to be done. I also hope though, that something is being done to empower young people, particularly women related to issues of sex and sexuality.
Thankfully the Church, at least, recognises it’s not too late to start reducing the amount of people who contract such a disease and so are doing their best and working towards real changes. Let hope this continues.