IAword for Rev, KqthindiThe Presbyterian Church in Canadarecently recognised the work of Rever-end Nangula Kathindi, General Secre-tary of the Oouncil of Cfiurches in Na- .mibia, with an award lor her outstand-ing contribution "on the cutting edge ofmission". Rev. Kathindi is seen herespeaking at the launch of Human RightsAwareness Week 2002 in Zoo Park,'Windhoek. The week was conducled bynon-governmental organiSations andthe Office of the Ombusdman.

Culturol bqrriers keep Kenyon ond Ugondon women out ofAIDS vsccine triols

Dr Nakwagala added that all fourwomen enrolled for the Uganda trialswere single mothers, who would havemore freedom in making their owndecisions than married women whousually need the consent of their hus-

The participation by women inHIV/AIDS vaccine trials in Kenyaand Uganda has been hampered bycultural inhibitions, scientists in thetrials said recently. Trials ofa vaccinethat promises to provide a solution toHIV and AIDS are currently underway in Kenya an'd Uganda, but theparticiphtion of women has been low.The scientists said that this low par-ticipation by women, who are morevulnerable to infeition than men,could hinder comprehensive conclu-sions on the efficacy of the vaccine.

Medical officers say that for com-prehensive conclusions to the vaccinetrials in both sexes, a substantialnumber of women have to participate.However, inAfrican culture, a womanhas little say about sexual matters ina family. The fact that participationin this trial revolves around the sexuallife of a couple makes it difficult forwomen to become involved in it, saida member of the Community Advi-sory Board (CAB) in Uganda.

CAB comprises opinion leaders inKampala and Entebbe where the HIVvaccine trial is taking place. They pro-vide advice on matters related to vac-cine recruitment and enrolment at theclinical trial. "We think that their hus-bands have not allowed them to comeback because during the sensitisationseminars the turn-out was 50/50 formen and women," said Dr FredNakwagala.

bands. Moreover, women also had theburden of looking after the home andso might not have enough time to re-port to the vaccine sites.Source: The East African (Nairobi), 4August 2003

Kenyon Women Reiect'Sex Cleonser'- In some rural African villages, tradition holds that widows must sleep

with the ritual "cleanser" - men who sleep with women after their hus-bands die - in order to be allowed to attend their husbands' funerals or beinherited by their husbands' brother or relative (another customary prac-tice). Unmanied women who lose a parent or child must also sleep withcleansers. Village elders in Gangre, Kenya, say the custom must be carriedout or the community will be cursed with bad crops. Areas that still prac-tice the tradition have the highest rates of HIV/AIDS, causing Africans toquestion and change traditions as the disease ravages the continent.

The cleansing job, held by hundreds of thousands of men across ruralAfrica, is seen as low class but essential to "pu'rifying" women. Cleansersare paid in cows and crops, as well as cash. They can be found in somerural'parts of Uganda, Tanzania and Congo. They are also a staple in An-gola and across West Africa, specifically in Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coastand Nigeria, according to African aid workers who have been trying todiscuss the HIV risk that cleansers present.

The tradition dates back centuries and is rooted in a belief that spiritshaunt a woman after her husband dies. She is also thought to be unholyand "disturbed" if she is unmarried and abstains from sex.

"It's a custom that must be stopped," said Janet Walsh, deputy directorof Human Rights Watch, which.published a report on it. "Condoms arenever used; they say it has to be skin-to-skin to work." Women in Africaare six times as likely to contract HIV as men, largely because of rape andcustoms like cleansing, in which one man can infect hundreds of women.Nancy Oundda, a nurse with the African Medical Research Foundation,predicted that people's attitudes toward the practice will change "with edu-cation, and if they realise what this tradition is doing."Source: GENDER-AIDS eForum 2003: gender.aids@healthdev.net

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Swozi women demond property rightsWomen's groups in Swaziland are

taking a more active role in shapinggender policy, ahead of the release ofthe first draft of the country's newconstitution by King Mswati III. Prop-erty ownership, cunently illegal forSwazi women, is one important areaof concern. "Throughout the opera-tion of our culture and received law,women have been systematically dis-criminated against in all aspects ofsocial life - for instance, in terms ofbeing property owners," said a state-ment from the women's empower-ment grcup, Umtapo waBomake.

The NGO, whose name in SiSwatimeans "the earnings of the women",has for l0 years quietly financedwomen's cooperat ives,. most ly insmall-scale agricultural schemes,sewing and handicraft ventures.

"Thepalace expects to issue its con-stitution like a royal proclamation, butthe nation has to live with it for a longtime, and if equality for women is notlegalised, we' cannot blindly ratifywhat is put before us," said a womanfrom a cooperative in the central com-mercial hub of Manzini, which is.fi-nanced by Umtapo waBomake.

Her group sews school uniformssold locally. Nearly all the 15 mem-bers of the cooperative are the solebreadwinners for their families. "Thisis not like the old days. So many fami-lies now depend on the earnings ofwomen, it is time this reality is r.e-flected in law," said Thalani Maseko,secretary-general of Lawyers for Hu-man Rights (Swaziland).

Swazi women are not permitted toown property, acquire bank loans orenter into contracts without the spon-sorship of male relatives. However,some women are acquiring portionsof communal Swazi Nation Land foreconomic development projects withthe blessings ofchiefs and their coun-cils of elders. Once these plots andfields are developed, with permanentfencing and buildings constructed, thewomen hope their informal ownershipwill evolve into title deeds when landreform, long-promised by govern-ment, becomes a reality.

"We're not waitins for lesislation

from a male-dominated parliament -we are moving forward, trying to findways for womeh to own property inSwaziland. One way is to create prop-erty-owning corporations, where thecompany legally owns the propertybut a woman is put in place as direc-tor," attorney Fikile Mtembu said.

Despite their efforts to get aroundexisting property ownership laws,women's groups admit they can onlygo so far until the country's laws arechanged. "Swaziland has embarkedon a process ofconstitutional and gen-der reforms, but this move would beirrelevant for women because of thein-built inequities to be found in cri-teria used to deal with women inSwaziland. The most significant cri-teria, common to both the traditionaland received system of laws (inher-ited from British colonial authorities).

is that of legal status - women are as-cribed a minority and inferior statusas opposed to men," Umtapo wa-Bomake said.

"Swazi women's inability to enjoytheir economic rights is never moreurgent than now, when women areincome earners, able to mobilise re-sources for purchasing assets such asland and houses."

The women's development groupdescribed as "the worst kind of eco-nomic injustice" that women may paythe price of a property, but are deniedownership because the title deed mustbear a man's name. "Women herepractically become'forced labour',amassing resources for the men whocan dispose ofthem as and when theyso desire," said an attomey with thegroup. The way forward is through theapplication of universal human rightstreaties, the organisation noted.Source: lRlN, 16 May 2003

Lutheron Women Theologions DiscussViolence in Nomibion Society

'ivomen theologians from the three Lutheran churches in Namibia contextu-ally reviewed the Lutheran World Federation (LSfF) document "Churches Say'No' to Violence against Women" at an October seminar held in Windhoekunder the theme "For the Healing of our Communities."

In the official opening address, Rev. DrV. Munyika, general secretary of theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) alerted participants to thedifference between power that dominates and oppresses, and power that servesand enhances life.

The 30 congregational pastors and theological students also discussed theCombating of Domestic Violence Act, which was enacted by the Namibianparliament this year. Representatives from the{-egalAssistance Centre explainedthe Act and its implications for Namibian citizens, and introduced practicalconflict-resolution methods to the group.

Rev. Angela Veii, coordinator of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Na-tional Committee in Namibia, reported that "All those present agreed that vio-lence - especially domestic abuse - is rife in our society, and that much needs tobe done to assist in the healing of our people and putting an end to the viciouscycle of violence." The women called for support groups, counseling and dif-ferent forms of accompaniment that could help victims to overcome feelingsof shame and worthlessness, helplessness and isolation.

There are three LWF member churches in Namibia - the ELCIN, Evangeli-cal Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia, and the German-speakingEvangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. They have a combined membershipof 887,000 people, representing about 50 percent of the country's population.

The LWF document "Churches Say 'No' to Violence against Women" is avail-able from Ms Priscilla Singh, Women in Church and Society Desk, LWF De-partment for Mission and Development, 50, Route de Ferney, P. O. Box 2100,CH-lzl 1 Geneva 2, Switzerland. E-mail: prs@lutheranworld.orgSource: Lutheran World Federation, 2T November 2003

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Kenyon widowsfight wife Plqcentol mqlorio increosesinheritsnce mother - to -child HIV

A group of 29 Kenyan women -all of them HIV positive - haveformed a club to fight the culture ofwife inheritance, which they blamefor the spread of AIDS in the area.The Obwanda DistresS Relief Clubwas formed by the women - all ofthem widows - in the small sleepyvillage of Obwanda in the westernKenyan distr ict of Homa B'ay.Among the Luo community - whoinhabit the district - young widowsare inherited by a brother in-law orany other suitor chosen by the vil-lage elders..In the past the iracticeensured that a young widow's sexualneeds were provi{ed for and herchildren were taken care of. Themajority of Luo still believe that'acurse known as "chira" will strikethose who breah with tradition, re-sulting"in the death of loved ones.Members of the Obwanda DistressRelief Club meet every week to.campaign against wife inheritanceand the need for voluntary AIDStesting. The chairperson of the club,Anne Ogwel, says the biggest chal-lenge facing them is ignorance."Many people think we are pretend-ing we have AIDS," Anne explains."They say we want to encourageyoung women to become big-headed and that it is fashionable notto be inherited".

Health organisations are also en-couraging widows in Homa Bay dis-trict to say no to wife inheritance -but it has not been easy. GideonOswago, who works for the AfricanMedical Research Foundation inHoma Bay,'says that although nowmany people are much more awareof AIDS, it is still difficult to con-vince people to discard deep-rootedpractices.Source: GENDER-AIDS eForum 2003:g e nde r- a i d s @ h ealth dev. n et

tronsmissionPlacental malaria infection during pregnancy significantly in-

creases the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, accord-ing to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School ofPublic Health. Their study of HlV-positive women living in Rakia,Uganda, found that the mother-to-child HIV transmission rateswere 40 percent among women with placental malaria comparedto 15.4 percent for women without malaria. The researchers be-lieve that interventions to prevent malaria during pregnancy couldpotentially reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Thestudy, which is the first to look at the effects of placental malariain mother-to-child HIV transmission, is published in the Novem-ber 2003 issue of the scientific journal AIDS.Source: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, httpt/www.j h sph. ed u/P re ss Boo m.

Cops in South Africq go door-to-dobr to curb obuse of women ondchildren

Policemen are going door-to-doorin Mpumalanga's historical goldmining town of Barberton to campaign against the abuse of womenand children. The campaign started on Saturday as part of the larger,national campaign of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence againstWomen and Children, and will run through the festive season, saidspokesman for Barberton police station, Inspector Faizel Essack.'"If you rape a woman or a child, the law will hit you hard," hewarned.

ThoBarberton campaign aims to identiff hot spots where womenand child abuse is most prevalent. Residents of Barberton and theneighbouring Emjindini Township can expect a police to knock attheir door between 8am and 2pm right up until Christmas. "Wewant to be more visible in the community and gear ourselves to bemore effective," said Inspector Essack.

So far, extensions I0 to 12 in Emjindini have been identified asbeing particularly dangerous areas for women and children. Inspec-tor Essack said the community had welcomed the door-to-door at-tention and many residents blamed local shebeens as being the rootof all violence in the area. The police will now step up their patrolsin these areas and keep a closer eye on shebeens. The Barbertonpolice station has a Victim Support Unit and a list of volunteers tohelp abused women and children.Source : BuaNews (South Africa), 3 December 2003

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