Props this week go to Malawi and the National Youth Council of Malawi for great strides in empowerment, women's rights, and safe sex practices!!
For years people have talked about
condoms as the
"hot" preventative measure against HIV contraction, not to mention other STIs and unwanted pregnancies.
Male condoms that is. Which makes sense because
unprotected sex is
the most common form of HIV transmission worldwide. And when condoms are used properly they can greatly reduce this risk.
Yet, aside from the plethora of misconceptions about condoms as well as a general aversion to wearing them because
A) they often aren't available, and by available i mean in the exact location needed when someone wants to have sex (i.e. a pocket, or appearing out of thin air),
B) they cost money, and
C) they just don't feel as good,
Billboard on Chilembwe Road reads"CARE. Female Condoms.
Show her that you care." Lilongwe, Malawi.
the actual effectiveness of male condoms as a prevention method is questioned by educators and health workers alike. And rightly so.
In many places around the world (yes, the U.S. can sometimes be included in that) sex is seen as pretty much all about the man-his decision, his desire, and for his pleasure. Oftentimes, females may not have a choice when it comes to sex, may be made to feel like they don't have a choice, or more commonly, view sex as sex something that women should not outrightly speak about or express a want or need for.
Thus begs the question, when it comes to sex, do women actually have the authority to insist on condom use?
We're talking about all women here. Can a prostitute make her client wear a condom? Can a wife in a male-dominated society insist her husband use one? Can a woman in a relationship tell her partner he has to put one on? What about a one-night stand? The list goes on...
Billboard in Area 40 Roundabout reads, "For women who choose to
CARE: Available at your nearest hair salon, drugstore, pharmacy, and
private clinic." Lilongwe, Malawi.
FEMALE CONDOMS have been gaining ground as an empowering alternative for women to choose safe sexual practices for themselves.
Five years ago in Malawi, female condoms were a mere idea, perhaps mentioned in passing, but definitely not discussed about or available in most stores. To be honest, I hadn't even seen one til I volunteered with World Camp. Today, there are billboards like the two pictured here throughout the city. The public support for this astounds me!
And that's not all. As part of our Malawi Development Project, we've been meeting with the National Youth Council of Malawi-a group that, among many other things, is launching a Youth Empowerment and Female Condom Campaign. As part of this, 81 youth workers have already been trained on how to give female condom demonstrations, and ads for female condoms are being promoted on the radio.
The kind of training the National Youth Council is doing is crucial because, not only are female condoms just starting to gain ground, but they are often rendered less effective than male condoms because they are more difficult to use, more expensive, and harder to find. At least the first challenge is being tackled!
In conjunction with this campaign, the National Youth Council is launching a campaign against early childhood marriages, lobbying for the government to increase the age at which kids can legally be married. Data from district hospitals show that the highest risk group for early pregnancies and HIV transmission are those marrying at a young age because the frequency of sex, specifically unprotected sex, increases after marriage. The average female Malawian will birth 6.3 children. Furthermore, especially in rural and poorer areas, these statistics affect young girls, as early marriages mean a large age difference between the young bride and the older man. This places her at significant risk for teen pregnancy and contracting HIV as a significantly older husband is likely to have had many sexual partners, continue sexual affairs, and assert authority when it comes to sex that a young girl does not feel she can challenge.
Thus, the ever increasing importance of not just providing other options, like female condoms, but campaigning, educating, and advocating for human rights when it comes to safe sex practices.
We must say, here at World Camp...we're impressed.
Stay tuned for more updates on our Malawi Development Project, organizations we'll be partnering with, and the latest action here on the ground in Lilongwe.
You hear us talk about HIV quite a bit, but half our curriculum is actually dedicated to environmental issues-deforestation, alternative fuel sources, climate change, and sanitation. We focus on these issues because of where we work and the inextricable link between the health of ourselves and our planet. In Malawi 90% of the population relies on trees as resources for cooking and building, yet the past 10 years has seen over 30% of the forests disappear. A simple border jump into Zambia or Tanzania is a harsh reminder of how lush Malawi used to be. India is the 4th largest contributor to global warming, and faces severe droughts, floods, and river pollution.
Sure, we'll discuss environmental degradation. And we'll build mock solar ovens and wind turbines. But we're not just talking about the environment. This year, World Camp will plant trees at 22 schools in India and Malawi. We hope to be able to gift a tree to each of the 2,500 kids that will attend our camps.
