II.1.1 THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY
According to AVEGA AGAHOZO, In Rwandese tradition women live
as man's shadow; she is expected to be reserved and discrete. She does not have
the right to give her opinion or questions concerning family life18.
It means that since her youth, the girl is expected to remain next to her
mother to help in the domestic or agricultural work. her education is
essentially centered on agricultural work, her education is essentially
centered on qualities of a good wife, what must be pleasing to her husband at
all levels and more especially sexually. It is hard to understand fully the
position of women without referring to the culture from which it emanates;
there is no state in the world that considered women equal to men. From time
immemorial, women have been considered an inferior sex.
16 UNAIDS.2005
17 idem
18 Avega Agahozo .1999.p35
In many countries of Africa women have been excluded in the
decision making process affect their lives, their families and their
communities, accepting social attitudes and expectations with resignation and
surrender19.
It has been known that the education of boys is seen as much
more important than that of girls. For a number of poor families, the potential
rewards of education daughters are too far off and therefore their education is
not recognized as an investment. Families perceive that girl's education will
only benefit her husband's household, and not her parents. In some cases girls
are not even allowed to go to school at all, because an education is perceived
as unnecessary for becoming wives or mothers20. This shows us the
position of women in society and their position in their families, and in our
days the position of women in different society has changed to good perception
and in this days the government has taken the good measures regarding the women
and to help them not to be ignored or inferior person in the society just the
government is trying to help the girls to attend and to continue their studies.
Education looks to be the only hope for women to make a positive change in
their lives whereas men are free to go into business, women are not as free to
do so.
II.1.2 WHAT MAKES WOMEN VULNERABLE TO HIV/AIDS
According to the research made by UNAIDS (2005), many factors
and forces exist that restrict people's autonomy and leave them particularly
exposed to HIV infection or vulnerability to needless suffering once they are
infected.
Intolerance of racial, religious or sexual minorities,
discrimination against people with known or suspected HIV infection, lower
status of women; abuse of power by older, lack of care and support for those
infected or affected; poverty or trafficking that leads to prostitution;
domestic violence and rape; military conflict and labor migration which split
up families, the list is a long one and varies from place to place.
19 Leticia a. p; sheric; rosemary c. v. 1999
20
www.eenet.org
In nutshell many factors influencing-the root causes of HIV
pandemic can be understood within the universal principles of human rights. We
can say that vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is often engendered by a lack of respect
for the rights of women and children, the right to information and education,
freedom of expression and association, the rights to liberty and security,
freedom from treatment and right to privacy and confidentiality.
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