Kenyan widows fight wife inheritance.A group of 29 Kenyan women--all of them HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. positive--have formed a club to fight the culture of wife inheritance, which they blame for the spread of AIDS in the area. The Obwanda Distress Relief Club was formed by the women--all of them widows--in the small sleepy village of Obwanda in the western Kenyan district of Homa Bay Homa Bay is a bay and town on the south shore of Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria, in western Kenya. It lies near Mount Homa (in the Luo language Got Uma or God Marahuma . Among the Luo community--who inhabit the district--young widows are inherited by a brother in-law or any other suitor SUITOR. One who is a party to a suit or action in court. One who is a party to an action. In its ancient sense, suitor meant one Who was bound to attend the county court, also, one who formed part of the secta. (q.v.) chosen by the village elders. In the past the practice ensured that a young widow's sexual needs were provided for and her children were taken care of. The majority of Luo still believe that a curse known as "chira" will strike those who break with tradition, resulting in the death of loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl . Members of the Obwanda Distress Relief Club meet every week to campaign against wife inheritance and the need for voluntary AIDS testing AIDS test Lab medicine Any test performed on a standard venipuncture blood specimen which detects HIV antibodies–ELISA, or antigens–eg, Western blot, or viral nucleic acid–eg, viral load by RNA. See Western blot. . The chairperson of the club, Anne Ogwel, says the biggest challenge facing them is ignorance. "Many people think we are pretending we have AIDS," Anne explains. "They say we want to encourage young women to become big-headed and that it is fashionable not to be inherited". Health organisations are also encouraging widows in Homa Bay district Homa Bay District is an administrative district in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Homa Bay. The district has a population of 288,540 (1999 census) and an area of 1,160 km² [1]. to say no to wife inheritance--but it has not been easy. Gideon Oswago, who works for the African Medical Research Foundation in Homa Bay, says that although now many people are much more aware of AIDS, it is still difficult to convince people to discard deep-rooted practices. Source: GENDER-AIDS eForum 2003: gender-aids@healthdev.net |
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