If you could put a face to Poverty, Aids, and ill-health, malnutrition what would it look like? Thinking of these words of misery, I always see a face of a ‘woman’. Why? I wonder! Gender, poverty and health are intimately related. Health and AIDS disease are not simply biologically determined phenomena. The chances of becoming ill are frequently related to a person’s social circumstances. That is to say, illness and AIDS disease are not simply associated with physiological changes but are also influenced by where we live and how we live, work and eat, and also by our relationship with other people.
There is evidence which shows that AIDS disease has a social, as well as biological basis – in fact, that AIDS disease is socially patterned. By this I mean that certain groups of people in society are more likely to suffer from HIV/AIDS than others. Generally those people most susceptible to such ailments are those who have the fewest material resources, and whose access to descent housing, adequate transport and employment opportunities is most restricted.
“Given the central role that women play in the survival of humanity, one would have thought our societies, and humanity as a whole, would have given the first call to the resources of this world to women and children. You would have thought that women would have been protected against domestic violence, the ravages of war, hunger and disease” (Nkosazana Zuma 2005) While AIDS in some developed countries is affecting the working class, the situation is different in the underdeveloped countries, where the most poor, especially women are victims of this epidemic.
Women engaged in the struggle for basic needs like housing, land, water and employment tend not to prioritize HIV as a risk factor in their lives. For many girls, poverty is also a common cause of entry into commercial sex work. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is already having a serious socio-economic impact on vulnerable and marginal groups in African society. The impact of the epidemic is pervasive and will affect all social and economic life.
Many of the hard-worm benefits of development will be threatened. This will lead to poorer nutrition, a worsening general level of health, an intensification of poverty, an increase in dependence and the undermining of national productive capacities. The promotion of women’s health and well-being should be a developmental priority. It should be part of the promotion of equality between women and men in all spheres of social, economic and political life.
The meeting of women’s special developmental needs for health, literacy, child care services, the enhancement of women’s productive capacities, improved socio-economic outcomes and their political empowerment, are all indicators of the social advancement of women. There is, however a positive link between women’s development and the development of children. Evidence exists to demonstrate that improving the health education and well being of women leads to the improved well being of children. For example, education of women contributes to the lowering of fertility rates, and to improving the quality of child care.
Many health problems experienced by women relate to poverty and unhealthy environments. While inadequate access to water, for example, and lack of collection of refuse affect all people, these issues are more detrimental in so far as they pertain to women. While many rural people may have health problems associated with inadequate infrastructure, it is largely women who are responsible for household survival, like ensuring that there is water, wood for fire and food. As this demands large amount of women’s time and physical energy and as a result grounds down women’s health.
Spending hours doing these, doesn’t exempt women from other domestic chores such as child care, cooking and cleaning and this type of work is not valued since it does not directly bring in household income. South Africa’s AIDS policies continue to be based on traditional health approaches ignoring social, cultural and economic and human rights dimensions of the epidemic. A broader human rights framework is needed to address the range of inequalities that drive HIV/AIDS and vulnerability of women, including poverty and gender violence.
Many approaches to combat HIV/AIDS have in fact reaffirmed ideas of female passivity and male dominance in decision on sex and reproduction. South Africa’s approaches seem to have responded to the different needs and constraints of women and men, but failed to challenge the gender status quo. On the other side the message is clear; the effectiveness of our approaches to HIV/AIDS depends on our ability to deal with the inequalities that both drive and are entrenched by the epidemic.
This overview of the status of women and gender in relation to poverty indicates that there is a paucity of data on women’s developmental needs and priorities, which if not addressed will continue to impede development planning. Again you may wonder why women issues are so important to this man. I remind you; I am born of a woman! Sbusiso Msomi is a Nelson Mandela Fellow with the University of Manchester (UK) and the Director of Umthathi Training Trust in Grahamstown.