Widows
without Rights Conference
London - 6-7 February,
2001
WIDOWS
and AIDS:
redefinitions and challenges
A presentation by
Bridget Sleap
Panos AIDS
Programme
These
statistics, while giving some indication of the scale of the
number of women being widowed by AIDS, do little to show how
being widowed in this way compounds the already traumatic
experience of widowhood.
That
disease is a social event, expressing the nature of the society
in which it occurs, is particularly evident in the AIDS epidemic.
One area of the crisis that has been little discussed is the
ambivalence, fear, blame and sometimes even hatred that the
older generation has towards the young, seeing AIDS as the
result of changing sexual norms that reject traditional behaviour.
Nor is there necessarily solidarity amongst women across the
generational divide, with some older women expressing contradictory
feelings of jealous bitterness alongside fear and concern
towards the younger generation . Perceptions of responsibility
and blame differ between different age groups and sex, but
since the spread of AIDS is often seen as the result of women's
immoral sexual behaviour, women are often blamed by all members
of society, including other women .
These
attitudes may compound the psychological impact of widowhood
for young widows whose husbands have died of AIDS, adding
to the cumulative stigma that they face.
They
have to cope with issues facing all widows: Intense isolation
and loneliness and sometimes the sense of losing their "womanhood",
of being seen as sexless. They have to deal with the grief
of losing their husband, or sometimes dealing with the relief
of being released from that relationship. In certain communities,
they may fear having their property grabbed or seized. Some
face levirate marriage, widow inheritance, by one of their
husband's relatives.
AIDS
compounds this. They may be blamed for the death of their
husband or themselves feel guilt at having survived, irrespective
of who transmitted the infection. They may or may not know
their own sero-status and they may not wish to be tested fearing
the consequences of a positive result. A positive result,
with no access to antiretroviral treatment, can amount to
a death sentence, placing young widows in a unique state of
transition in which they must make arrangements for the care
of their children after they die, as well as care for any
HIV positive children who may die before them. They may wish
to be sexually active or remarry, without knowing how to protect
themselves or their potential partners from infection.
The
trauma of being widowed is great enough in the best of circumstances
but for a widow affected by HIV/AIDS, the additional psychological
burden is particularly great.
Socio-Economic Impact - challenging the extended family
The
discrimination and stigma felt by widows affected by AIDS
is not limited to psychological trauma but also affects their
social and economic status.
HIV/AIDS
and poverty are closely linked. Another vicious circle: HIV/AIDS
drives many families into deepening poverty, while at the
same time poverty accelerates the spread of HIV. It is recognised
that female-headed households are already vulnerable to poverty
in general terms. Despite the latest UNAIDS report which suggests
that AIDS afflicted households are more resilient than was
once thought , studies into rural households in Uganda indicate
that female-headed households are more afflicted by HIV/AIDS
economically than male headed households . But, just as there
is little epidemiological data on widows as a discreet group,
so too is there little analysis of the economic impact of
AIDS-deaths on widow-headed households, as opposed to single
or female headed households, or of comparisons to deaths from
other causes.
What
is becoming clear, however, is the effect the AIDS epidemic
is having on the extended family and how it is challenging
traditional gender roles. Loss of the husband's income may
be compounded by ostracisation from the extended family which
may have been the only economic and social support network
available. Many women accused of bringing the virus into the
husband's home, have lost that home on his death. In such
cases the widow, particularly if she has few skills, faces
considerable difficulties in finding work, a new home and
rebuilding her life.
Coping
strategies will vary, but little research has been done to
find out if these strategies differ depending on the cause
of widowhood. Some strategies have more pertinence to HIV
and AIDS than others, for example commercial sex work and
beer brewing may place widows at risk of infection or ostracise
them further. Children having to leave school may place them
at risk through lack of education or, in the case of girls,
becoming child brides or child sex workers. Changes in farming
techniques may result in an inability to maintain a nutritious
diet or pay for treatment, and so shorten the life of those
who are HIV positive. A recent study on home-based care for
people living with AIDS in Tanzania indicated that carers
were spending 3-7 hours a day on care-related activities at
the terminal stage of the illness , time taken away from income
generation. The majority of carers are women; for a widow
in a female-headed household, this can have severe economic
consequences.
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