MALAWI: Get Legislation Into the Hands of Those Who Need It

The gendered status of the HIV and AIDS pandemic is obvious when we look at countless statistics showing that more women than men are infected - and many more women than men bear the brunt of caring for those infected.

The link between gender-based violence and HIV and AIDS in southern Africa is also quite clear.

Thoko Mussa, Society for Women and AIDS in Malawi (SWAM) national coordinator, said many women suffer depression because of emotional and physical violence inflicted by husbands. If they are sick because of HIV, these problems are exacerbated.

"Women who are living with HIV and AIDS can easily develop immune system problems and can die early, physical violence is also one of the factors that contribute to the spread of HIV amongst women," she said.

What's unfortunate, said Mussa, is that in spite of the abuse they suffer in marriage, many Malawian women are then expected to care for abusive husbands who fall sick from HIV-related illnesses.

"A woman will always be there to care after a sick husband regardless that a woman had been abused by the husband," she said, noting that men are much less likely to care for sick wives.

Mussa indicated that because of cultural perceptions, care work is seen as the responsibility of women if a man falls sick, yet in many cases a husband will divorce his wife is she becomes bedridden due to HIV-related complications.

"In some cases when a wife is sick a husband will call the mother of the wife to look after her," said Mussa. "We need to change this perception, men also need to stand up and take care of their wives."

A Voluntary Service Overseas Regional AIDS Initiative Southern Africa and World Health Organisation study found that in six SADC countries (Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe) at least 72% of secondary care providers are women.

Malawi enacted domestic violence legislation in 2006 with the involvement of many women's rights organisations and the Ministry of Gender and Child Development, but experts like Mussa argue that the law needs to be reviewed because it left out issues such as care work and HIV and AIDS.

However, in 2008, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) commended Malawi for ensuring that links between gender and HIV and AIDS feature prominently in national HIV plans and in the 2008-2011 UN Development Action Framework (UNDAF).

UNIFEM noted that Malawi is moving in the right direction by committing to combat violence against women and trying to empower women.

Yet progressive as some legislation may be, the major challenge is that there has been little effort to disseminate its contents to grassroots groups and women in rural areas of Malawi.

Although international organisations rave about Malawi's laws, they do little to actually protect the majority of those they are meant to help.

"I think we really need to effectively revise the legislation and disseminate it, we have a problem in the country as there are many policies in our offices, but the people out there do not know such laws and policies, most women do not know where to get assistance, in spite of the laws being in place," said Mussa.

Malawian Churches have recently joined the fight against gender-based violence to address HIV and AIDS by launching a handbook which clearly links the two issues. The work has been championed by the Ecumenical Counselling Centre, composed of the Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference and the Malawi Council of Churches (MCC).

"It is time that the church, too, accepted the existence of gender-based violence and addressed it. Gender-based violence has for a long time been part of our society and now it is only coming out in the open because there is more talk of human rights," said Robert Mwaungulu, executive director of the Ecumenical Counselling Centre.

German Development Company GTZ's BACKUP Initiative has also stepped up the campaign to address issues of gender and HIV and AIDS in Malawi by supporting the Malawi Interfaith AIDS Association (MIAA), the Theatre for a Change (TFAC) and Women in Law Southern Africa (WLSA).

Under this arrangement a network called Coalition on Gender and HIV and AIDS Advocacy in Malawi (COGHAAM) has recently been established to address the two issues through evidence-based advocacy.

"COGHAAM would like to use a gendered approach to HIV and AIDS interventions in Malawi which has not been done due to lack of clear policy advocacy," said MIAA executive director Robert Ngaiyaye. "We want to address the gaps existing in the country."

As we commemorate World AIDS Day and the 16 Days of Activism, it's important to highlight the link between gender-based violence, HIV and AIDS and care work. There is a lot of good will and a lot happening on paper, but it's now time to move faster to revise and implement legislation and get it off the shelves collecting dust and into the hands of those who may use it. The future of our country (and our region) depends on it.