Human Rights, Women and HIV/AIDS

Hey People,

The Learning Network was launched at IC 2005 in India. It was a great time for all of us because we are able to interact with the externals one on one and also have the opportunity to meet the people involved and driving the change. It is important that we continue with the discussion and are able to invoke our learning from this network. If you guys have trainees or people that are experts on the topics and issues that will be discussed, please do not hesitate to get their input so that it can better facilitate our understanding in this network.

Before the LN launch, the issue we were discussing was trying to relate HIV/AIDS to poverty, vulnerability or gender issue. I noticed we did not discussed this issue extensively so the next topic will revolve around this issue..

"Human Rights, Women and HIV/AIDS" is the next topic we will explore for the couple of weeks and hopefully we will be able to get valuable inputs from you all.

According to Bibi's input "People are trying to survive by doing what it takes to survive and try to be somebody in life" which encourages them to do anything that will make them succeed in life without concerns for the results of their actions.

Personally, i will like to relate the idea's expressed by Bibi to Human rights and women and the role they play in the society where HIV/AIDS is a major trend. According to the current WHO fact sheet "Women’s right to safe sexuality and to autonomy in all decisions relating to sexuality is respected almost nowhere." in which case their rights is most dishonorned in places where women exchange sex for survival in their way of life. This is not about prostitution but "rather a basic social and economic arrangement between the sexes which results on the one hand from poverty affecting men and women, and on the other hand, from male control over women’s lives in a context of poverty."

Consequently, most men, however poor can choose when, with whom and with what protection if any, to have sex. Most women cannot. "As such, our basic premise has to be that unless and until the scope of human rights is fully extended to economic security (ie the right not to live in abject poverty in a world of immense riches), women’s right to safe sexuality is not going to be achieved."

The question is how does this affect the society? and how will the issue of human right continue to engender the global epidemic (HIV/AIDS)?

Looking forward to your contribution

Fredrick Ikugbagbe,

IG Moderator