Abstract
Stemming from women’s subordinate status in southern African societies, HIV has been “feminized” to stigmatize women as the vectors of transmission, despite the fact that men are propagating the epidemic. Essentially, the nineteenth century marital laws restrict women’s access to and inheritance of personally and matrimonially acquired assets, thereby limiting their power to negotiate safe sex with their HIV-infected husbands. Using Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data on female respondents in six southern African countries, we conducted a retrospective study to 1) examine the association between female empowerment (proxied by a composite variable per DHS guidelines) and HIV serostatus, 2) examine the association using its component variables (designed for this study), and 3) evaluate the impact of education on HIV serostatus. We hypothesized an inverse relationship between female empowerment and HIV positivity, and lower odds of HIV among women with formal education beyond primary school. We found that women without decision-making authority for large household purchases had the highest odds of HIV (adjusted OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1- 2.1, p=0.020), and women with formal education beyond primary school had higher odds of HIV (adjusted OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.5, p=0.011). Given the paramount importance of money in society, we can infer that husbands who delegate to or share decision-making authority for large household purchases with their wives may be manifesting their own self-respect toward them. Future research should evaluate facilitated social bonding among women in southern African countries and investigate the feasibility of communal living systems, especially in rural areas.
Presenters
Nallely MoraAlexandrina Balanean, MPH
Scientist, Real-World Evidence, Health Economics Outcomes and Research, Cardinal Health, Armed Forces Americas, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Politics, Power, and Institutions
KEYWORDS
Colonialism, Neoliberalism, Regulations, Power, Social Movements, Sovereignty, Female Empowerment
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