Her Rights Initiative: Sharing Stories of GBV

On Friday, August 9th, Bomme Isago Association(BIA) gathered together a group of HIV positive women to share their experiences of violence. The workshop was coordinated by BIA but initiated and implemented by BONELA and the Her Rights Initiative.

The gathering was an opportunity for women living with HIV to explore their place in society, understand their power in the community, and discuss the specific types of violence they face as positive women.

Group work included recounting their own experiences of violence and trying to pinpoint the ways violence is directed as women living with HIV. Ms. Ann Strode, from the Her Rights Initiative pointed out that most policies addressing violence against women were written to protect negative women from becoming positive. These policies often ignore the the physical, verbal, and economic abuse perpetrated against women living with the disease. 

The objective of the Her Rights Initiative is to define "violence against women living with HIV". The violence may differ or mirror the violence against women more generally, but the only way to know that is to record and compare the experiences of both categories of women. The project is taking Ms. Strode all around the SADC region as similar workshops will be held with women in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho. After the country workshops are completed there will be a regional conference where two representatives from each country will share their stories and exchange ideas on how to fight violence in their communities.

In the group of 20 women present at the Lobatse conversation, over half of them had experienced some form of violence. The participants told stories of being removed from their homes after they revealed their status to their mothers, and husbands and partners beating and raping them repeatedly as punishment for being HIV positive. The participants ranged from mid-twenties to late sixties and came from Lobatse, Kanye, and Molapowbojang. It was disheartening to see how many women were affected by violence and that the harshest perpetrators of the violence ranged from mothers, to cousins, to health care providers.

The last session of the workshop was an opportunity to develop an action plan. Action items included, kgotla meetings, speaking to church ministers, holding marches, and speaking to family and friends. The participants urged the workshop organizers to include men in the next conversation so as to explore the reasons they perpetrate and perpetuate this violence. In tern, the facilitator challenged the women to discuss these issues with the men in their lives; brothers, fathers, uncles, cousins, sons.  She reminded them that while it may be difficult and sometimes dangerous to challenge their partners abuse, the message of ending GBV may be better received if delivered by a non-intimate partner. Therefore, sensitizing men, boys, and other women in the community should be the mandate of everyone who placed an item on the action plan. Change will come from empowered women willing to speak out against these injustices and the women in that conversation vowed to do so.

If you are currently in a violent relationship and are seeking help please contact Bomme Isago Association or the Lobatse or Woodhall police. There is help out there for you.    

Pledge to End Gender Based Violence

 The Lobatse District Gender Committee(LDGC) is instituting an annual walk to end Gender Based Violence. The inaugural walk will take place on 30th August in Lobatse. The day’s events will include banner making, a march through town, ending with a program at the Lobatse Stadium. The march will be led by Mr. S. Kebonang, the legal advisor for Choppies and will be comprised of councillors, business managers, heads of departments, program coordinators, women’s organizations, survivors of GBV, and other supporters, to raise awareness and seek an end to Gender Based Violence (GBV). At the end of the program, participants will be asked to sign the anti-GBV . 

Event Details are as follows: 

The Theme is “Lobatse Leadership and Community Joining Hands for a Violence Free Future”

                                  March                              Program              

Time:             7:30AM                           9:00AM

Location:     Gunner’s Grounds        Lobatse Stadium

For more information please see this link: http://ldmsac.blogspot.com/2013/08/walk-to-end-gender-based-violence-30th.html

Anti-GBV Pledge

Raising Powerful Girls

Raising Powerful Girls
by PBS Parents


How do you raise a powerful girl and what does that mean?

Powerful girls grow up feeling secure in themselves. They learn to take action, making positive choices about their own lives and doing positive things for others. They think critically about the world around them. They express their feelings and acknowledge the feelings and thoughts of others in caring ways. Powerful girls feel good about themselves and grow up with a "can-do" attitude. Of course, strong girls may (like all of us) have times of insecurity and self-doubt, but these feelings aren't paralyzing because the girls have learned to work through their problems. Powerful girls will grow up to lead full, valuable lives.

Here are some of our experts' ideas to help you raise powerful daughters.

Encourage your daughter to pursue a passion.
"Full engagement with an activity she loves will give her the opportunity to master challenges, which will boost her self-esteem and resilience and affirm intrinsic values rather than appearance," says Rachel Simmons, author of Odd Girl Out. "Having a passion lets her go shoot baskets or play an instrument, for example, instead of being swept up in online drama."


Let her have a voice in making decisions.
"Whenever possible, let her make constructive choices about her life. Let her choose her own clothes, within appropriate limits. Give her a voice in what after-school activities she participates in and how many she wants to do (as long as it works for the rest of the family, too). Remember that knowing what she cares about most will come from trying some things and finding she doesn't like them, as well as from finding things she loves to do," recommends Jane Katch, Ed.D., author of They Don't Like Me. "Your daughter might need to make a commitment for a short time for an activity (one soccer season) but when that's over, it's okay to try something different!"


Identify the values most important to your family.
"Consider the ways you convey these values, especially by example. What are the moments in your daily life when you can model the values you want your daughter to learn?" asks Simmons. "What traits and strengths do you want your daughter to develop as she grows?" asks Meg White, M.A. "See if these qualities are reflected in how you parent."


Encourage her to solve issues on her own rather than fixing things for her.
"When parents take over, girls don't develop the coping skills they need to handle situations on their own. Ask your daughter to consider three strategies she might use to deal with a situation, and then ask her about the possible outcomes. Let her decide what she wants to do (within reason). Even if you disagree with her choice, you give your daughter a sense of control over her life and show her that she is responsible for her decisions," says Simmons.


Encourage her to take physical risks.
"Girls who avoid risks have poorer self-esteem than girls who can and do face challenges," says JoAnn Deak, Ph.D., author of Girls Will Be Girls. "Urge your daughter to go beyond her comfort zone -- for example, encourage a girl who's scared to ride her bike downhill to find just a small hill to conquer first." Catherine Steiner-Adair, Ed.D., co-author of Full of Ourselves: A Wellness Program to Advance Girl Power, Health and Leadership, agrees. "It's important to help even non-athletic girls develop some physical competence and confidence when they're young. Whether it's through team or individual sports, girls need to form a physical relationship with their body that builds confidence."


Get girls working together.
"Girls who work cooperatively in school or who problem-solve together do much better in taking large risks or facing challenges. These girls report an incredible sense of accomplishment and feeling of competence, both of which give a huge boost to self-esteem," says Deak. "Encourage your daughter to participate in team-building activities or join organizations that rely on teamwork."


Let your daughter know you love her because of who she is, not because of what she weighs or how she looks.
"Encourage your girl to eat in healthy ways, but don't over-obsess over what she eats. Listen to her opinions (about food, and other things) and show appreciation for her uniqueness, to help her develop herself into the person she wants to be," says Steiner-Adair. "Comment on the way she carries herself into a room or the ideas she is expressing before commenting on her looks. She needs you to know her insides and validate the developing person within, as well as noticing her emerging young womanhood," adds White.


Allow her to disagree with you and get angry.
"Raising a powerful girl means living with one. She must be able to stand up to you and be heard, so she can learn to do the same with classmates, teachers, a boyfriend, or future bosses," says White. Lyn Mikel Brown, Ed.D., and Sharon Lamb, Ed.D., co-authors of Packaging Girlhood, write, "Girls need guidance about how to stay clear in their disagreements, and they need support for not giving up their convictions to maintain a false harmony. Help girls to make considered choices about how to express their feelings, and to whom." Steiner-Adair notes that "Not all girls will want to do this, especially shy girls, but you can still help them develop the skills."







Address girl fighting when you see it.
"Talk with girls about relational violence (such as gossip, rumor-spreading and exclusion) as well as physical violence (hitting or fighting). But don't assume all girls are mean, and avoid saying 'girls will be girls' when you witness girls engaging in exclusive cliques and clubs. Instead, affirm girls' relational strengths and sense of fairness, help them identify and hold on to their strong feelings, like anger, and encourage them to practice more direct, positive ways to effect change in their relationships," says Brown.


Make regular time to listen to your girl.
"By creating consistent, predictable times when she knows that you are receptive and available to listen -- like riding in a car, taking a walk, or just sitting reading -- you will eventually be let into her inner world. Let her use you as a sounding board to sort out what she is going through, without solving problems for her. The answers that come from within her are the ones she will eventually live by," says White.


Listen more than you talk.
"When we talk to girls, they often experience it as us talking at them, and they not only stop listening, they stop thinking and reflecting. But when we listen to them, they have to think about what they are saying, and they tend to reflect more. And we need to keep an open dialogue -- we can't dismiss their chatter about ups and downs of friendship as trivial, and then expect them to talk to us about the important stuff," says Lawrence Cohen, Ph.D., co-author of Mom, They're Teasing Me.


Limit your daughter's exposure to the media and popular culture when she is young.
"This will give her more time to develop her own ideas, creativity, and imagination from her direct first-hand experience. As she grows, media messages will start to get in, so having rules and routines from the start can help your daughter control her own experiences as she gets older," says Diane Levin, Ph.D, author of So Sexy So Soon.


Help her process the messages in the media.
"Help her avoid the narrow focus on appearance and consumerism that often dominates the media. By helping your daughter process the messages she sees on the screen and develop her own ideas about them, you can prepare her to better resist the media's pervasive stereotypes," says Levin. "Help her notice the bigger picture -- for example, how looking like her latest teen idol can be fun but also connects her with a lot of other stuff she might not have noticed or thought about. Wonder aloud about more general patterns you see, like how all those little purses hanging from everything might make it seem that all girls, even three-year-olds, are into shopping," add Brown and Lamb.


Talk with her about the differences between sex in the movies and loving relationships in real life.
"It's important to talk with your daughter about sex and sexuality in ways appropriate to her age and your values," says Levin. "As she gets older it becomes increasingly important to help your daughter understand the difference between sexualized images in the media and healthy sexuality. Through give-and-take discussion, you can help her begin to understand the difference between the media's presentation of sex and sexiness. You can talk about how sex is frequently portrayed without love, intimacy or emotion, or as part of caring relationships. When your daughter is old enough, you can begin to discuss what a mature, healthy, loving relationship -- in which sex is a part -- is all about."


Acknowledge her struggles but keep a sense of perspective.
"We have to acknowledge the pain our daughters are experiencing, so they feel heard and accepted and empathized with. But we also need to put it into perspective, to stay calm and listen to what they are experiencing without projecting our own experiences onto theirs. Your daughter is having a different experience than you did, even if there are surface similarities," says Cohen. "After all, she has something you didn't have: you."


Enjoy her!
"Having a powerful girl can be exciting and energizing. Find activities you both enjoy and do them regularly together. Maybe you both like cooking or having breakfast together, hiking or reading books," says Katch. "Try to keep this connection as she gets older -- if times ever get tough, you'll appreciate this special bond you share!"



Source: http://www.pbs.org/parents/raisinggirls/powerful/

Marc Omphemetse Themba and Husband Marry in S.A.

“All things that are in the constitution, here they don’t mean anything, they don’t translate to our daily lives. People are being killed,” a married black lesbian activist in a Cape Town township says.

posted on June 16, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT

J. Lester FederBuzzFeed Contributor

When the reigning Mr. Gay Namibia married his Botswanan partner in South Africa in April 2013, Zimbabwe’s ZimEye.org declared, “History [made] as Africa witnesses second gay wedding.” The first, said the website, happened a week earlier when two men married in a Zulu ceremony in the South African town of KwaDukuza.

Of course, these were neither the first nor second same-sex weddings in Africa. Many couples have married in South Africa since the country legalized same-sex marriage in 2006. But because South Africa has sizeable white and Asian minorities, its same-sex marriages are dismissed by many opponents of LGBTI rights as a foreign import on a continent where 38 governments still criminalize homosexuality. (In South Africa and many other parts of the world, the preferred acronym is LGBTI—Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex.) These weddings may take place in Africa, but they are not “African” weddings.

Mr. Gay Namibia, whose name is Ricardo Raymond Amunjera, and his husband, Marc Omphemetse Themba, have vivid memories of when South Africa passed its same-sex marriage law. So they were surprised when news of the private ceremony in a Johannesburg office of the Department of Home Affairs started making headlines around the globe.

“I’m proud that my union to Ricardo and … the wedding itself [have] actually made a bold statement … to the world out there that we are here, we are authentic, and we exist,” Themba said. “Homosexuality has never been ‘un-African.’”

Themba and Amunjera are lucky. Though homosexuality is illegal in both their countries, they have not been arrested. Nor have they been attacked or forced to leave their home, unlike other couples that have attempted to celebrate their unions on the continent. Both of their families even came to the wedding reception at the Hilton Hotel in the Namibian capital of Windhoek.

“Marc’s family accepted me; my family loves him. It was every gay man’s dream come true,” said Amunjera.

Even still, they are making plans to move to South Africa, which they speak of as a promised land where they can live together with full rights.

“As much as I love my country, I want to be able to live in a country where my marriage is legitimate,” Amunjera said.

You can find the full article here http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/same-sex-marriage-is-south-africas-law-but-stories-differ

Setswana Culture and Gender

Selected excerpts from 
Culture, Gender and HIV/AIDS
Understanding and Acting on the Issues
MUSA W. DUBE


We are gendered human beings, all the time, everywhere. Gender pervades all aspects of our lives and of our human senses. In fact, we often think it is divine, hence unchangeable. Here is the strength and difficulty of dealing with gender issues. Many people think gender is natural or biological. It is not. It is a social product. Hence members of the society can reconstruct it, if and when we find it wanting. For example, the people of our era have been brought to realize that gender is “a major driving force behind the AIDS epidemic”. This, I insist, is more than enough reason for us to seek to change our current gender constructs.

Culture and religion: how is gender constructed and maintained?
When we begin to ask how gender is constructed and maintained, we realize how central culture is. Something as deep and as pervasive as gender needs a range of social support that helps to maintain it and keep it alive through the generations. It can only thrive through myth and cultural and religious beliefs that give a stamp of approval and a “blessing” to what is certainly a social construct. I would like to plot the construction of gender from birth to death by showing how gender is maintained and reproduced in culture, using particularly Setswana cultures.


Naming: What happens when a child is born? How is gender marked? In most cultures the child is named. The naming can be neutral, but in some cultures it becomes the first social construct. In the Setswana cultures, for example, a girl child might be named Segametsi (one who draws water), Mosidi (one who grinds flour), Bontle (beauty), Khumo (one who will bring bride wealth), Boingotlo (the humble one), Dikeledi (tears, one who cries), Maitseo (the one who behaves well), Lorato (love). Boy children may be given the following names: Modisaotsile (the shepherd), Mojaboswa (the inheritor), Kgosi (the leader), Seganka (the brave one), Moagi (the builder). Each of us can think of our own naming system and examine whether it distributes power of leadership, property ownership and public leadership equally among boys and girls. In the Setswana naming system, the names spell out the gender roles and they certainly do not distribute power equally among boys and girls. The boy child is marked as leader, property-owner and public leader; the girl child is a domestic player, humble, a lover, and one who must be beautiful.

Storytelling: The childhood stage is characterized by culturally educating children through proverbs, story-telling, language and school. For example, when I grew up we learned proverbs and story-telling round the fire. If you go back and check what these say about women and men, you will find that it is a cultural bank that does not distribute power equally between different genders. Here we learn such proverbs as Gandinke di etelelwa ke tse di namagadi (a woman never leads), Monna o wa kgomothwa (a man need not be handsome – just pick any), Mosadi tshwene o jewa maboga (a woman’s labour is harvested by someone else).
We learned many stories. When looking at them now, we realize they taught that a good girl is one who is obedient and cooks a good meal for her husband (like the folk tale about the wife who tamed her snake husband with her good cooking); a girl must care about beauty (Tsananapo), a boy must care about cows/property (Masilo), and must be a brave protector (Delele). Today this may not be reproduced by traditional ways of learning, but it is quite prevalent in TV shows like the soap operas children watch and the magazines they read.

Marriage: This stage is one of those rites of passage where gender roles are underlined and reinforced. In Setswana cultures, the old married women take the new bride and counsel her quite painfully until she cries. Some of the things they say are: Nyalo e a itshokelwa (you must endure marriage, it will be difficult), Ngwanaka, monna ga a botswe kwa a tswang (my child, a man is never asked where he went or slept), Monna phafana oa fapanelwa (a man is a calabash that is passed around). Culture expects and tolerates a man’s unfaithfulness. You must remember that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach – so cook for him. If your husband hits you, and you get a black eye, never reveal it; say you bumped against the wall on your way to the toilet in the dark. Here violence is institutionally tolerated! The bridegroom, on the other hand, is told, “Today you are a man. See to it that your wife and children have food and shelter. Make sure they are protected.” In most cases, the new husband is not counselled. It is just assumed he knows what it means to be a husband.

The representation of gender roles during the wedding celebration is also evident in the songs and actions. One of the most dramatic demonstrations of gender roles in a wedding of the Northern Botswana is when the bride enters the home from the church. Guests stand in two rows holding all the domestic utensils and acting out what a wife is expected to do. As she walks in, holding the hand of her husband, some will be pounding or weeding, others will be nursing a baby, some will be sweeping or cooking, some will be carrying a bundle of firewood. All these activities will be demonstrated, against a background of singing, dancing and ululation. Again, in this demonstration of gender roles very little is said about the role of a husband – except that the husband is to expect all these numerous activities from his wife. Some of the latest gendered traditions surrounding marriage are what are called the kitchen party or bridal shower. The fact that it is called a kitchen party speaks volumes on what is expected from the wife. 


Death: Even the passage from life to death does not escape gender construction. Culture has put in place rituals that reinforce and maintain gender roles surrounding death.In some Botswana cultures,widows undergo quite painful rituals to cleanse them of the blood of their dead husband. In Botswana a widow must wear a black or blue dress for a whole year to mark her status and warn other men to stay away, for any man who has sexual intercourse with a widow before the cleansing ceremony will supposedly fall ill. During this period, therefore, she must not see another man. The widower, however, does not have to wear black mourning dress for the society to know him. It follows that he does not have to abstain, except out of his own good will towards his late wife.

In many cultures, burials of women and men were and still are gender-marked. A man was buried in his kraal, wrapped in a fresh skin of a cow, and well equipped with weapons of war, spears and rods. A woman could be buried in the home, with pots and other cooking utensils. The cultural thinking is that even in the other life/heaven women and men would still be pursuing their socially ascribed roles. In some Batswana cultures, once a woman marries away from her ethnic group, she cannot return to be buried in her home town or village. A married woman stays married – dead or alive.

http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/mission/hiv-curriculum-index.html

Mokgatlho o ruta bomme

Bomme ba ba tshelang le mogare le ba ba amilweng ke mogare kwa metsaneng e e gaufi le Tsabong, ba amogetse dithutho go tswa mo mokgatlhong wa Bomme Isago Association bosheng.

Fa a bua kwa ithutuntshong ya malatsi a mabedi, Mme Boingotlo Gupta, yo o leng moeteledipele wa lekgotla leo, o tlhalositse fa ba lemogile gore bomme ba ba tshelang ka mogare, segolo jang ba ba nnang mo dikgaolong tse di tshwanang le Kgalagadi, ba tlhaela ka kitso e e tseneletseng ka dikgang tse di amanang le segajaja sa HIV/AIDS.

Mme Gupta o tlhalositse fa ithutuntso e ne e remeletse mo go ruteng bomme ka ditshwanelo tsa tlhakanelo dikobo le botsogo, kgethololo ya ba-na-le-mogare le kgokgontsho ya bomme kwa malwapeng.

A re go neela balwetse diritibatsi fela go le nosi go ka se rarabolole seemo sa AIDS mo lefatsheng mme go le botlhokwa gape gore bomme ba e leng bone thari ya setshaba, ba rutiwe gore ba fetisetse thuto eo kwa go boRre gammogo le bana bone.

A re dikgang tsa bolwetse jwa AIDS di motlhofo e bile di tlhaloganngwa botoka ke bomme ka jalo go ba ruta ka tsone go tsisa pharologanyo mo setshabeng.

Mme Gupta a re mokgatlho wa Bomme Isago o ikemiseditse go kgothatsa bomme ba ba tshelang ka mogare go dirisa sekausu ka dinako tsotlhe fa ba tlhakanela dikobo, go itshireletsa mo megareng e mengwe e e ka gakatsang seemo sa bone le go fokotsa kanamiso ya mogare.

O buile kgatlhanong le bangwe ba ba fetisetsang mogare ka bomo mo go ba bangwe ka ntlha ya kilo le mowa yo o bosula. A re batho ba ba tshelang ka mogare ga ba a tshwanela go fetisetsa mogare kwa go ba bangwe ka seo se tsuolola ditshwanelo tsa ba bangwe.

O tsweletse ka gore batho ba ba tshelang ka mogare ba na le tshwanelo jaaka mongwe le mongwe.

Mme Doreen Mfaladi wa lephata la pelegi mo kokelong ya Tsabong, o ne a ruta bomme bao ka ditselana tsa go itlhatlhobela mogare, malwetse a dikobo le lenaneo la thibelo ya mogare go tswa mo go mmangwana go ya kwa loseeng ga mmogo le go amusiwa ga bana ke bomme ba ba tshelang ka mogare.

Bao ba ba neng ba tseneletse ithutuntsho, ba ne ba tlhalosa fa ba ne ba sa itse mananeo a mangwe ka bontsi a a amanang le bolwetse jwa AIDS.

Ba re ba lebogela gore ithutuntso eo, e bo e tshwaretswe kwa kgaolong ya bone. Ba re ba itlamile go fetisetsa dithuto tseo kwa go ba bangwe. Bokhutlo

Source : BOPA	Author : Michelle Laba
Location : TSABONG	Event : Ithutuntsho
Date : Feb 06 Wed,201

Gaboitsiwe awaits good samaritan

November 11, 2012

Botswana has a high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 17.6% after Swaziland according to the recent annual reports presented by National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA). This is despite the efforts made by HIV/AIDS organisations and other players in the industry in the fight against the pandemic. Botswana as a country still has a long way to go in fighting this serial killer.

Women have limited access to health services because of stigmatization and discrimination associated with womanhood hence deterring them from acting or preventing HIV/AIDS therefore accounting them to 60% of people living with HIV.In trying to inform and engage policy makers and government on women issues the International Community of Women Living with HIV Southern Africa (ICW), Bomme Isago Association (BIA) and BONELA recently held a one-day dialogue meeting between women living with HIV and policy makers to address sexual reproductive health rights of women living with HIV in Botswana.
BIA is an organisation which exists to improve the well-being of children and women living with HIV in Botswana and promote their rights.The dialogue was aimed at coming up with ways of helping women with HIV by mobilising their access to sexual reproductive health and right (SRHR) through core group’s advocates and strategic partner organisations.

One participant at the meeting cried foul about her health condition which was ignored by one of the government hospitals.Jacqueline Gaboitsewe was tested for cervical cancer in 2006 and has been toyed between government hospitals until now. Despite her urgent problem Gaboitsewe said she wish the government could come up with policies and rights to address cancer complicated matters like hers.
Having been in and out of hospitals for years now and relying on pain killers for her health, the bubbly Gaboitsewe, said she just hoped a good samaritan will just come from heaven and rescue her from her trauma.”I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and cry looking at my two year old daughter in pain and thinking am I going to die and leave her behind,” she said. She said she survives through the help of family members and spouse.

Gabane Support Group chair, Girly Mothibedi on the other hand blamed the takeover of clinics by Central Government and last year’s strike as some of the challenges faced by women in villages when it comes to support group which can be helpful to women living with HIV/AIDS.
The 31-year old, who hails from Gabane, started the group in 2001 and still holds on the cross despite low commitment from some members. She said the reason why in most cases women are vulnerable and mostly affected by HIV is because of the stigma which is still high in villages.“The affected people are not joining because they don’t want to disclose their status avoiding stigmatization,” she added.She said when they started the support group they were 150 but today they are only 25, and the remaining pose sluggish feet.Mothibedi said support groups are not effective as they are meant to be because there is lack of resources and limited health practitioners especially in villages.“When clinics were still under local government we used transport from the clinic to spread awareness in the village but now it’s tough,” she added.
She said since last year’s strike, new staff have been employed and patients in most cases are not free to share information with the new hired nurses.”It’s even crowded in hospitals, it takes forever to be helped,” she added.
The most challenging element is that support groups face lack of funding because most of the people are volunteers, no one is paying them, and this slows their efforts to outreach and teach women affected with HIV to come forth. Gabane Support Group is a community group of volunteers who came forth to interact, support each other by listening and sharing experiences.
On her keynote address, ICW Regional Coordinator, Promise Mthembu said there is need to increase access to legal services and audit cervical cancer services in order to know the extend of the problem to women living with HIV.
”Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Southern African women therefore much attention is needed on it,” she emphasized.
Mthembu said policies are crucial as they will address issues faced by women with HIV in the society. Some of the issues experienced by women in particular according to Mthembu include reports of forced sterilisation of HIV women and policies which punish those who choose to have children.”Every woman has the right to have a child, through the policies that we advocate for women can be able to have children,” she said.She added that women living with HIV in most cases are disadvantaged as more deaths come as a result of childbearing.

”With PMTCT Programmes people are more concerned about the life of the child to be saved and forget about the mother, “she added.Mthembu said through these policies women living with HIV will also benefit as in most cases the less privileged don’t benefit from health facilities. The only people who benefit are the rich and those in powers because they get help from private health facilities.Tati Town Tribal Leader, Ms Ludo Mosojane emphasized more on the role of policy makers in addressing sexual and reproductive health services for women living with HIV in Botswana. Mosojane adviced policy makers to come up with solutions, advocates as well as programmes where women living with HIV can be heard clearly.
“Ministry of Health is the most important stakeholder to be present on this kind of dialogues as well as Dikgosi, Councillors and MP’s because they are people who lead the women living with HIV in their respective wards,” she said.Mosojane said the reason why women issues are taken for granted is because of our culture; women are treated like children and not appreciated in most cases.“Policy makers should on regular basis sit down with the affected and hear their challenges from the horse’s mouth,” she added.
Boingotlo Gupta from BIA said as a small NGO they are really trying to address issues related to rights of women living with HIV and urged other players to partner with them in order to achieve one of the Vision 2016 pillars,” a compassionate, just and caring nation”.She said so far BIA has done four workshops across the country, documented 25 case studies of P.M.T.C.T and cervical cancer issues, and has 20 support groups as part of advocacy and awareness.The dialogue was held under the theme”Listen to US-Advancing sexual reproductive rights of women living with HIV in Botswana.

Meanwhile the recent State of the Nation Address indicated that in addressing incidence of cancer the government of Botswana has collaborated with US Centre for Disease Control and University of Pennsylvania in introducing new screening treatment methods for pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix. His Excellency Seretse Khama said cancer treatment centres has been created at Nyangabye and Princess Marina respectively.

http://thepatriot.co.bw/gaboitsiwe-awaits-good-samaritan/?quick_view=1

Help Women and Girls Fight HIV/AIDS

August 5, 2009 | Author joycemcfadden

Women are affected by HIV in countless ways. They are the caretakers of husbands, children, parents and neighbors living with HIV/AIDS. They worry about how to protect themselves and their children from infection. Sexual coercion and violence against women are rampant inside and outside marriage, heightening their of infection risk . Those living with HIV/AIDS, or whose partners die of AIDS, are often beaten, stigmatized and rejected by their families.

Ensuring equal access to prevention, treatment, care and support for women and girls requires ending the gender inequality and discrimination that drive the pandemic. Organizations like the International Women’s Health Coalitionwork in partnership with advocates worldwide to ensure that the global AIDS response reflects the realities of women and girls. Their approach is ambitious: IWHC provides financial support and capacity-building for women’s organizations in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and mobilizes women and young people to advocate in for the policies and funding they know are needed.

In Botswana, which has the second highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, IWHC partners with Bomme Isago Association. Founder Grace Sedio often says that when she contracted HIV, she didn’t receive any superpowers — yet in a country where HIV positive women are rarely heard, Grace has begun the country’s first and only organization of women living with HIV/AIDS, bringing their needs to the forefront of national and international fora.

Bomme Isago brings women throughout the country, from rural and urban areas, together to share information about health services, nutrition and stigma. Eventually, Grace was able to coordinate meetings between these women and government officials. One Member of Parliament was so affected by what he learned from them that he spoke passionately on the floor of Parliament about the issues women living with HIV/AIDS face and how policies, programs and funding streams must meet those needs. After he spoke, another member remarked that “it was like a woman living with AIDS was standing in front of us speaking.”

Local organizations in Africa are also working to change the way that future generations of men and women treat each other. A major avenue for this is comprehensive sexuality and gender education.

With the support of IWHC, Girls Power Initiative (GPI) was founded in rural Nigeria to provide a small group of teenage girls with life skills not taught in standard school curriculums. Today, GPI reaches approximately 20,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 18 through programming that arms them with information about their rights, their bodies, and the skills they need to navigate their adolescent and adult years in good health.

Ask anyone in the four Nigerian states where the Girls Power Initiative (GPI) works — parents, teachers, doctors, even government officials — and they will tell you: the difference between a GPI girl and a non-GPI girl is striking. In a country where adolescent girls are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies and trafficking, GPI girls are strong, assertive, articulate, informed, and keenly aware of their rights. GPI is now working with the Nigerian government and teachers to implement their curriculum throughout the country.

The way forward is simple: Women, who know women’s realities, must be included in decision-making and in leadership at all levels of the global AIDS response. If we commit to providing women and girls the information, knowledge and skills they need to live healthy lives, they can affect positive change in their families, communities, and countries, and offer hope to a new generation that does not know a world without HIV and AIDS.

To join IWHC in securing a just and healthy life for women and girls worldwide, visit www.iwhc.org

http://joycemcfadden.com/tag/forward-by-madonna/

Male Involvement in HIV Initiatives Still Low

Zambia, 25 April 2012 (allAfrica) - The non-involvement of men in HIV and AIDS initiatives in the region is one of the impediments to progress in addressing the effects of the pandemic.

Theresa Sikute Chishimba from the Society for Women and AIDS (SWAAZ) in Zambia, said that women are at the forefront with very few men joining in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Citing examples from her organisations' experiences, she said SWAAZ invites both women and men, but men never show any interest.

SWAAZ offers services to vulnerable children and women, orphans, care-givers, people living with HIV/AIDS, and children with disabilities. Chishimba noted that the organisation has started a number of projects to support its target groups.

The main challenge SWAAZ faces is that men show very little support, as they prefer initiatives that will benefit them financially. She however noted that when there is money involved, everyone wants to share in the spoils at the expense of the people who should benefit from the funds.

Boingotlo Gupta, from Bomme Isago Association, in Botswana shared the same sentiments. She however highlighted that the organisation has made great strides in getting men to be involved. Bomme Isago Association addresses the sexual and reproductive health and rights challenges faced by women infected with, and affected by HIV and AIDS.

Gupta highlighted that women in the support groups would like to see men benefitting from the various education initiatives to raise awareness on a number of issues, including education on the dangers of repeated pregnancy.

The education programmes also stress the importance of open dialogue about sex between men and women. She added that while sex talk is 'taboo' in most African societies, sex contributes to a number of challenges including GBV, and HIV and AIDS.

Thabile Ginindza from Swaziland also believes that men are usually reluctant to take part in HIV and AIDS initiatives as they view the health of children as the job of a woman. Ginindza is a member of the Alliance of Mayors Initiative for Community Action on AIDS (AMICAAL).

Ginindza explained that their concentration on the rights of children to be healthy is motivated by the high prevalence rates of HIV and AIDS.

She however said, even though men are reluctant to get involved, the AMICAAL program is doing quite well as the women they train share the information with their families and their communities. She said more people are now aware of the PMCT program and services, saying that it is indeed true that 'if you teach a woman you teach the whole community'.

Ginindza however said her organisation is still hard at work to try and encourage men to take an active role and participate by organizing family fun days and sporting activities. "We try to involve men, because they are partners as well as fathers of these babies," she said.

Maureen Odubeng is a journalist with Mmegi in Botswana. This article is part of GL Opinion and Commentary Service, special news and analysis series on the 2012 Gender Justice and Local Government Summit

When You Think of Botswana and HIV/AIDS, Think of the Women

by Grace Sedio, Bomme Isago Association

August 6, 2008 - 4:27 pm

Coverage of the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City has once again pointed to Botswana as a "success story" in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  Reporting on new data from the Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Brenda Wilson of National Public Radio said:  "Take Botswana, which had one of the highest rates of HIV in Southern Africa.  And the government and international organizations put in strong prevention and treatment programs. Prevalence among teen girls dropped from 25 percent to 18 percent."

I have another side of the story to tell. 

Botswana is a mid-income country and so, was one of the first to provide antiretroviral treatment and
institute programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This is one fundamental reason that we can claim some success. But Botswana continues to have one of the highest HIV rates in the world, and most of the new infections are among women and young people. Today, if you meet 20 young women between the ages of 15 and 24 in Botswana, it is likely that at least 3 of them are living with HIV. The situation in Botswana is controversial because some organizations working in the country have very little understanding of how the rights of women living with HIV/AIDS are being violated.

Yesterday at the International AIDS Conference, I spoke on a panel focusing on what the next phase of the United States’ AIDS response (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief-PEPFAR) should look like when it comes to women.  Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and now with Realizing Rights, opened the session by saying that "We’ve not done better for women and girls [in the fight againstHIV/AIDS] because we have not respected their human rights from thebeginning." 

She is right, and my task on the panel was to describe the situation for women within the PEPFAR-funded
programs and how, so often, their rights are not respected. Let me give you one recent example:

During the last three weeks, I was in the field in Botswana. I came across a project working with
women who are pregnant and living with HIV.  The project intends to provide these women with psychosocial support by linking them with other women who are mothers living with HIV and trained counselors.  The women who work as counselors are asked to sign a contract in order to receive their stipend. The contract requires them to pledge to not to become pregnant while counseling for the program-violating their fundamental right to decide to have a baby or not.

My organization, Bomme Isago Association, is currently involved in monitoring sexual and reproductive
health services for women living with HIV in the country.  Every day, I hear similar stories similar to this one from women throughout Botswana. PEPFAR must do better for we women in Botswana.

Here are just three recommendations
as PEPFAR enters in next five years of implementation:

1. Support sexual and reproductive health services.  Don’t tell us not to get pregnant.  Give us family planning and provide us with safe abortion services if we are pregnant and do not want to have a child.  I do not want to see any woman in Botswana giving birth to an infected child because she was denied full information and services, but the choice of whether to have child or not is hers.
2. Support our human rights.  When I became infected with HIV, I only got the virus, I did not get superpowers.  Women living with HIV still need protection of their rights. My HIV-status does not take away my sexuality or the fact that I am a woman with basic rights over my body and health.
3. Don’t give up on prevention. We are all grateful for the U.S. government’s commitment to providing treatment, but, prevention is equally important.  I do not want anyone else in Botswana to needlessly become infected.

I am optimistic that the world, including PEPFAR, can do better for women.  But, no progress, including
that heralded in my country, will be truly secure without a fundamental commitment to human rights.  

BONELA and Bomme Isago grill Tlou for “disturbing” remarks

By : Sunday Standard Reporter - 2006-12-11 12:08:27

Health Minister, Dr Sheila Tlou this week found herself under attack from AIDS non governmental organizations for a remark she made in her World AIDS Day speech allegedly suggesting that women were deliberately infecting their children and partners with the virus. The Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV\AIDS (BONELA) and Bomme Isago, a network of women living with HIV\AIDS this week issued a press statement expressing concern “about some comments made by Health Minister Sheila Tlou during her World AIDS day Speech in Tsabong.” Tlou said HIV positive women who fall pregnant were a challenge to zero HIV transmission. The two NGOs said they agreed with Tlou when she said the position of Government is that every citizen has the right to have children. They were, however, disturbed by the comment that followed: “Nobody has the right to knowingly transmit HIV or knowingly expose another person – partner, spouse or child, to possible HIV infection”. According to the press release, “this statement wrongly and discriminately suggests that women are willfully transmitting HIV to their partners and children.” A BONELA fact finding mission conducted earlier this year found that women who know their HIV positive status before they become pregnant have difficulty accessing family planning programmes and face discrimination from many healthcare providers. “ In order to reduce the risk of HIV transmission, all women- not only those who do not know their HIV status before getting pregnant – should have access to PMTCT services in a supportive setting,” says Christine Stegling, Director of Botswana network of Ethics, Law and HIV|AIDS. “A woman’s right to bear children should not be violated because she tests positive to HIV. Instead, Botswana should take the lead in ensuring an environment that assists women’s access to information and services to allow them to make informed and healthy choices for themselves and their children.” The minister’s remarks are also of concern because they do not reflect the reality that many HIV positive women are not necessarily making the choice to get pregnant. “Research has shown that in relationships, women do not have the power to negotiate safe sex. The question is, therefore, where these HIV positive women all of a sudden get the power to negotiate safer sex?” asks Grace Sedio, of Bomme Isago. “Putting the blame on women for the spread of HIV \AIDS is not part of the solution. The solution lies in us as citizens of Botswana, men and women, HIV positive and HIV negative, NGOs and government working together and not pointing fingers at one another”, she added . BONELA is a Gaborone based non governmental organization working on ethical, legal and human rights dimensions of the HIV\AIDS pandemic in Botswana. BONELA is involved in research, training, advocacy, legal assistance and public education. Established last year, Bomme Isago Association is a growing network which boasts more than 50 members around Botswana.

Having children the safe way with HIV

People living with HIV/AIDS should have information on the safest way to have a child.

THATO CHWAANE
STAFF WRITER

MMEGI ONLINE

The HIV/AIDs director of Academy for Educational Development (AED)-Botswana, Kirsten Weeks, said affected people should be able to choose whether to have children or not.

Weeks said this at the half-day 'needs assessment' workshop held at Gaborone Sun yesterday.

She said they should have the necessary tools to guide them to have babies in the safest way. She said women should not use protection in the fertile days of the month and use condoms for the rest of the days to avoid HIV re-infection.

Weeks said people who choose this route should be made to understand that they risk re-infection or they might re-infect their partners.

She said that this is their choice, and just because they are living with HIV does not mean they do not have a choice as long as they have all the facts.

The director of Centre of Youth for Hope (CEYOHO), Kesego Basha-Mupeli, called for guidelines for those who choose to conceive when living with the virus.

She said that when she asked for the guidelines from the Ministry of Health, she was told that there were none. She recommended the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme.

"We are human beings. We have a choice and still need to have families," said Grace Sedio from Bomme Isago Association.

She said they too had the choice of conceiving or adopting. She said that whether they have children or not should not be determined by their status, but rather, by their health. 

She said that if the CD4 count is high and the viral load is undetectable, they should have that choice to conceive.

"We are not saying that people should not use condoms. We are saying we should be given information to make informed decisions," the health practitioners said.

Chief Health Officer from the Ministry of Health, Barbara Mudanga said it is important to prevent secondary and tertiary infections. She said there is a need for further empowerment of people living with HIV to prevent infections and for them to adhere to treatment. 

Mudanga said that ARVs improved the quality of lives of people living with the virus, however, this alone is not sufficient and preventing further infection is essential.

The workshop will discuss the results of a report entitled "Needs assessment of opportunities to strengthen prevention with people living with HIV/AIDS in clinical and community settings in selected sites in Botswana'.

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=30&dir=2008/February/Thursday28

Gender equality in Botswana common law

A comprehensive government-commissioned review of all laws which discriminated against women has been completed. Below you find some of the changes made;

• Following the landmark case of Unity Dow v Attorney-General in 1995, the Citizenship Act was amended to enable Batswana women married to non-citizens to pass on their Botswana citizenship to their children.       


• In 1998, the Penal Code was amended to have a gender-neutral definition of rape. 


• The Abolition of Marital Powers Act of 2005 now gives both partners in common law marriage equal powers in the family.  Prior to this legislation, women who were married were regarded as minors and policies in government departments and financial institutions demanded that a married woman obtained the consent of her husband to carry out any transactions and gave the husband all the property rights.  


• The Deeds Registry Act has since been amended to enable women to register immovable property in their own names.


• The Mines and Quarries Act now allows women to work underground.

The government has not, however, taken any steps to outlaw marital rape, possibly because of the public confusion about conjugal rights and consent within marriage.

There are also no laws in place to allow a woman to choose to have an abortion, except in the case of rape.

Although these legislative changes improve the position of women, there are also laws which discriminate against men, to the detriment of both the men and of their children.

The Deserted Wives and Children’s Protection Act addresses the maintenance of children born within marriage, but assumes the wife has been deserted by the husband.  It does not say whether a man deserted by his wife can claim maintenance for children.  In the case of divorce or judicial separation, custody generally goes to the mother and the Matrimonial Causes Act  has no specific provisions concerning visitation rights for the non-custodian parent.

The Affiliation Proceedings Act 1999 mitigated the discrimination against children born out of wedlock, allowing women (or guardians and/or care-takers of orphans) to seek maintenance from the father, but does not specifically provide for men to seek maintenance from the mother, when the children are in the father’s custody.

http://www.ditshwanelo.org.bw/gender.html#gen