Culture, sexuality, and women's agency in the prevention of HIV/AIDS in southern Africa

Using an ethnographic approach, the authors explored the awareness among wo men in southern Africa of the HIV epidemic and the methods they might use t o protect themselves from the virus. The research. conducted from 1992? thr ough 1999, focused specifically on heterosexual transmission in 5 sites tha t were selected to reflect urban and rural experiences, various populations , and economic and political opportunities for women ar different historica l moments over the course of the HIV epidemic. The authors found that the female condom and other woman-controlled methods are regarded as culturally appropriate among many men and women in souther n Africa and are crucial to the future of HIV/AIDS prevention. The data rep orted in this article demonstrate that cultural acceptability for such meth ods among women varies along different axes, both over time and among diffe rent populations. For this reason, local circumstances need to be taken int o account. Given that women have been clearly asking for protective methods they can u se, however, political and economic concerns, combined with historically po werful patterns of gender discrimination and neglect of women's sexuality, must be viewed as the main obstacles to the development and distribution of methods women can control.