If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

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If I kept it to myself advocacy plans for SRR, coordinating research projects and development of information materials, contracting and managing research consultants and associates. I represent ICW’s views and calls on SRR in key strategic and policy meetings and at other international events. I highlight the stigma, discrimination, and hardship that women living with HIV face in the context of sexual and reproductive rights at events that I attend. As a young woman living with HIV and AIDS, I affirm the need for reproductive health services to support young women on issues around sexuality. Sexual pleasure is a right even for those who are HIV positive. I am disturbed that when a young woman discloses her positive status, it is taken for granted that she has ceased to be sexually active. The situation is worse when we wish to have babies. When HIV positive woman is found to be pregnant, she can expect to be asked, “How did you get pregnant in the first place?” The research undertaken by ICW on sexual and reproductive health for women living with AIDS in French speaking African countries has revealed that HIV positive women’s sexual and reproductive health is not a priority in national and international policies in the response to HIV and AIDS in the 12 countries studied. I act as an advisor on SRR issues to ICW partners; women’s organisations and UN bodies like UNAIDS, WHO and UNFPA. HIV positive women lack access to knowledge about their status and they face obstacles in preventing and terminating unwanted pregnancy. Many lack access to prevent mother to child (PMTCT) transmission and they are normally stigmatised and discriminated against when seeking reproductive health care. I believe that there should be no separation between HIV and AIDS and reproductive health services because people need the right information to decide their future, given that more than 90 percent of adult HIV infections, particularly in Africa, occur through heterosexual transmission. Although each woman living with HIV and AIDS has her own story to tell, many of our stories are similar and reflect the position of women in society. HIV can take away your health, but it cannot take love away. As a woman living with HIV, I still have relationships with friends, family and colleagues. Sometimes these relationships are destroyed because of fear and lack of knowledge about HIV and AIDS, however, things are not all negative. It is possible to live a positive life with HIV. Stigma and discrimination can be overcome. Postscript Promise Mthembu is the founder of the African Microbicides Advocacy Group, the Gender AIDS Forum of South Africa. She is also a steering committee member for the Global Campaign for Microbicides of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, and is a member of the South African Youth Council, Treatment Action Campaign, Young Women’s Network, the Global Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS, the KwaZulu Natal Cerebral Palsy Association, Society for International Development, Reproductive Rights Alliance of South Africa, Catholic Institute for International Relations, AIDS Legal Network, and an advisory member on HIV and AIDS and women for the Ethical Globalisation Initiative. 90 Born: 1974 Country: South Africa Organisations: ICW, TAC, African Microbicides Advocacy Group (AMAG) Campaigns for: sexual and reproductive rights of HIV positive women
Young women intervene in a world with AIDS Emma Tuahepa-Kamapoha I believe that engaging religious and traditional leaders on HIV and AIDS issues is imperative in helping communities deal with stigma and discrimination. I had just completed high school and went to college to do a Diploma in Education. After having an HIV test the result came back HIV positive. I was just 21 years old when I was raped. My innocence, my future seems unsecured and in addition to this, I did not have counselling. I am not sure I understood what stigma would mean. I was more ashamed of myself and about what people in my own community would think about me. At first, I felt like a complete failure and I needed to lead myself in the direction of healing. The reality was I have been living with HIV and I now had conformation. I knew there was life after being diagnosed HIV positive. Beside these positive thoughts, I was angry and still felt like killing myself. However, I am the first born of five children, I did not want them to become infected. I was raped and could not forget that it needed a measure of sacrifice. I have life shows on radio and TV and I continued with my studies. I felt my efforts already were appreciated. I wanted to know more about HIV and I wanted to do much more. My first regional trip was to Botswana where I had an opportunity to meet other women living with HIV and AIDS at the SWAA conference. These women encouraged me, pushing me to do more advocacy work. I was supported by UNAIDS Namibia and travelled with the UNAIDS Country programme representative, Mrs. Mary Guinn Delaney, who later became my mentor and In Namibia, the culture does not allow women to speak out but I could no longer be silent. At that stage, I still believed I was going to die soon so I was committed to saving at least one person’s life. In November 1996 I became the first Namibian to disclose my HIV status to the nation on television. This reality shook the nation because I still looked very healthy. I got support from the Founding Father of the Nation Dr. Sam Nujoma by then the President of Namibia, Dr. Nicky Iyambo and The Minister of Health Social service by then Libertine Amathila. Since then, I have had the opportunity to visit all 13 regions of Namibia, spreading messages of hope and encouragement to young people in university, schools, colleges and vocational training centres. 91
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If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

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