CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Tanzania |
AIDS
Tanzania has embarked on a massive campaign against HIV/AIDS,
but traditional
customs and cultures practised by many tribes,
remain a major stumbling
block to the campaigns’ success
Tanzanian society is made up of more than 120 ethnic tribes of different traditional practices and cultures, some of which seem to hamper the on-going national-wide campaign against HIV/AIDS. This, in spite of the fact that the government, society in general, the print and electronic media, have all responded positively to President Benjamin Mkapa’s call to fight the increasing spread of HIV/AIDS.
Short educational programmes (usually about 20 minutes) dealing with HIV/AIDS issues have become a regular feature on local radio stations and television. However, the success of the government’s campaign can be examined by looking at how suggested preventive measures can conflict with many tribes’ traditional practices and customs.
Conflict — Let’s take a couple of examples. Mr Shonvi Mfuteni is a Zaramo, one of the tribes living along the eastern Indian Ocean coastline. He says his tribe’s traditional practice whereby a young lady reaching adolescence, has to take part in two weeks of traditional dancing (commonly known as «Mkole»), perpetuates the spread of HIV/AIDS. What happens during this period? The fact is, it’s a time for drinking (traditional beer) and most of the men who are going to dance with the young ladies, come when they’re already drunk. Dancing takes place throughout the night and this is frequently accompanied by what can be best described as acts of unsafe sex with the young women. The Government and Non-Governmental Organizations are against these practices, but they are still carried on.
John Wandiba comes from the Lake Victoria area in the north-west of Tanzania where, for many tribes in this region, marrying a woman literally means «buying her completely». He says: «One of my brothers married a beautiful woman and after four years they were blessed with two children. Two months later, my brother died of an unknown disease. As our tradition dictates, my two elder brothers claimed possession of this woman.
This inheritance of a woman by brothers of the same family, is common practice among many Tanzanian tribes. Once she gets married, she is considered to be a chattel vis à vis her husband’s family. She has virtually nothing to say regarding her marital future if her husband should die. She is literally claimed by the deceased brothers no matter their medical history. The field is thus ripe for the spread of HIV/AIDS.
And when it comes to providing safe sex education, there are problems. If a woman insists on her partner taking all necessary precautions, she is accused of breaking womens’ customs in their tribe.
Effective campaign needed — Since HIV/AIDS erupted in Tanzania in the early 1980s, more than 600,000 people have already died from AIDS, and some 1.75 million are presently estimated to be living with the AIDS virus. An effective campaign to combat HIV/AIDS is thus all-important. During this current fiscal year 2001-2002, the Government has set aside Tshs. 4.443 billion, to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS. Measures such as tax-fee medication for HIV/AIDS victims have been introduced, but the success depends solely on how people in both the urban and rural areas are prepared to change their habits, cultures and traditional customs.
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