Some cultural practices fuel spread of HIV

In this day and age where the HIV pandemic has so many influences on the way of life of many people, some cultural traditions in Namibia are sill contributing to the increased spread of HIV.  Cultural traditions that value one sex over another are fueling the spread of HIV in many African countries. Also, legal systems in some countries often grant women lesser status than men, restricting property, inheritance and other rights.  

Often, women do not have control over sexual relationships, including condom use, and they are afraid that testing positive for HIV will jeopardise their relationships or lead to stigma.  Generally, it is considered more important for women to respect male partners than for men to respect their female partners. For example, in some cultures, men are seen as 'hunters' who can have as many sexual partners as they want.  The fact of the matter is, being a so-called hunter will only increase one's chances of getting infected with HIV. The best thing to do is to stick to one partner.  

Also a cultural norm that contributes to increased infection rates is that some cultures perceive it as wrong for someone who is older than 25 years not to have a child, this in turn forces people to engage in unprotected sex to prove that there is nothing wrong with their fertility.  In some African cultures polygamy is still widely accepted. Polygamy can increase one's risk of getting HIV if just one of the people in the marriage has sex outside the marriage. Polygamy can be safe though, provided that all partners only have sex with each other and not outside marriage.

To be completely safe in a polygamous marriage, all partners must go for an HIV test prior to entering the marriage.  Margaret, a young woman in Namibia told of her story which brings cultural practices into the spotlight. 'Losing my sister was very painful. Then, as I was unmarried, my family wanted me to marry my brother-in-law. They told me that it was culture and I couldn't dispute. They wanted me to give up my studies and to marry this old man that I did not even love. It was painful because people were saying my sister had died of AIDS.

I was worried because if I married her husband, I would get infected with the virus too. In the end I did not marry him and my family is still very angry with me. I don't really mind because it's my life and I'm happy with my decision.'  People should know that as much as culture is important and as much as our elders tell us to respect our culture, your health is more important and there we should not let our culture put us at the risk of contracting HIV.  No one has the right to force you to have sex if you do not want to, even if it goes against your culture. What society believes in can put you at risk of getting HIV, so make the right choice everytime!