History teaches that when any group becomes stigmatized and dehumanized,
curtailment of their basic human rights is sure to follow. Recent developments
in the international fight against AIDS suggests that this sad lesson is now
being forgotten.
AIDS is a scourge that claimed more than 3 million lives in 2002. Last year,
an additional 5 million persons became infected with the deadly HIV virus.
According to UNAIDS, which coordinates the international fight against AIDS,
the HIV virus has infected an equal number of men and women.
The ABC Solution
The only widespread program proven to curtail AIDS is known as the
"ABC"
approach. First pioneered in
Uganda, ABC stands for "Abstinence, Be faithful, or use Condoms."
Over the past 10 years, Ugandans were given the politically incorrect advice
to abstain from sexual relations until after marriage. "No grazing," which
meant no sex outside of a monogamous relationship, became the operative
message. All persons, men and women alike, were seen as part of the solution.
So while the UNAIDS-sanctioned approach advocates "safer sex," Ugandans saw
a message plastered on billboards that conveyed the opposite: "Have sex and
die."
The results confounded all the UNAIDS experts. In 1994, more than 60% of
boys ages 13-16 were sexually active; by 2001, that figure had dropped to 5%.
Dramatic changes were seen in other groups, as well -- in 1991, 21% of pregnant
women in Uganda had HIV. Ten years later, only 6% of pregnant women had the
deadly virus.
The Feminist AIDS Strategy
Outside of Uganda, feminist ideology has taken hold in the global struggle
against AIDS. Article 14 of the UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS
states, "...Gender equality and the empowerment of women are fundamental
elements in the reduction of the vulnerability of women and girls to
HIV/AIDS."
In stark contrast to the ABC strategy, the feminist approach to stopping
AIDS emphasizes the "empowerment" of women. Lamentably, this empowerment
strategy also has had the insidious effect of scapegoating men.
At a February
26 meeting of HIV experts, Geeta Rao Gupta, president of the
International Center for Research on Women, claimed that female vulnerability
in patriarchal societies leaves women with little or no power to control the
circumstances of their lives.
On March 1, Kati Marton, a representative of the International Women's
Health Coalition,
made
the shrill claim that "women must be empowered so that
they can defend themselves against the men who are infecting and abandoning
them."
Clearly, Ms. Gupta and Marton believe that men are unwilling to alter their
sexual behaviors, and therefore men with AIDS are undeserving of sympathy. So
we should focus our efforts instead on protecting "vulnerable" women.
History Now Comes Full Circle
On April 3 the director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, made this extraordinary
broadside: "Women are the lifeline of these southern African communities. They
put the food on the table, and they're the ones that keep families going during
such crises. They've been hit hardest by HIV and they're overwhelmingly taking
on the burden of caring for the young, the old, the sick and the dying."
As a consequence, according to the
UNICEF
press release, "Women and
children must be at the center of response to Southern Africa's humanitarian
crisis."
In short, men are useless. They are deemed unworthy of humanitarian aid, in
the eyes of UNICEF. The dehumanization of men is complete.
