Niomré, Senegal — The Senegalese president, Abdoulaye Wade, while acknowledging that his country has achieved some success fighting HIV/AIDS, insists it is far from enough: "We are living a tragedy in Africa now, because of the destruction of our population caused by a disease we cannot cure. I think what we can do now is to strengthen and improve our efforts at prevention."
At the forefront of that battle, Wade considers, are the women of Senegal. "Take any given woman in any given neighbourhood," he said. "If she gathers together a group of ten or twenty women and she talks to them - without fanfare, without drums or trumpets - and explains the problems of AIDS so that it sinks in, then we will make progress. And that is possible in Senegal."
That is precisely the role played by Aminata Ndiaye, the vice-president of the Association of Women of Niomré, a village in northern Senegal with an overwhelmingly Muslim population of about five thousand, located near the main town of Louga.
From her village alone, about 400 men have left to find jobs in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the United States and even farther afield, although some have stayed closer to home, crossing borders into neighbouring countries.
Ndiaye says this exodus presents a problem. Often the men leave behind a wife and family. They return to Senegal when they can, but sometimes these home visits come after several years absence. While abroad, the men may have had other partners and become infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, although they may be unaware because they may not have been tested. They then pass the virus on to their spouses or girlfriends.
Sure enough, AIDS has begun to spread in Niomré. The village chief, Serigne Thierno Lo, says there have been more cases reported in his village in the past four to six years.
The religious dimension to all aspects of life and culture in Senegal is ever-present in Niomré, among men and women. Chief Lo says he believes AIDS is the 'divine will (of Allah). The only way to stop the spread of the disease, adds Lo, is for us "to change our behaviour and remain faithful", which he says is happening in his village. "The truth is, if everyone just stayed where they were meant to be, as they should be doing, then AIDS simply couldnt spread."
But Aminata Ndiaye says the women in her village are confronted with a cultural dilemma, a consequence of the migration of Niomrés men and what happens while they are overseas.
Lo, the chief, is open about the fact that the cultural practices of polygamy and spousal inheritance (sometimes called wife inheritance) still exist in Niomré. According to this custom, a widow is remarried to either the brother or a close relative of her deceased husband.
The trouble is that her spouse may have been living abroad and may have contracted AIDS, and passed on the virus to her before he dies. Chief Lo stresses that these matters remain highly sensitive in Niomré, and elsewhere, because of the stigma still attached to the disease. 'Our culture is to be discreet, he says, so the cause of death may not have been publicly acknowledged.
The tradition of remarrying widows to their husbands relatives thus risks becoming a factor in the rapid propagation of AIDS, a reality others in Kenya and other African countries have also had to face.
President Wade acknowledges that the prevalence of HIV infection is higher in areas of his country, such as Niomré, thanks to the constant migration. "It seems that the virus comes from outside. We have lots of Senegalese who come and go, in and out of the country. And in their areas of origin, the prevalence rate is higher. So, if we can convince the wives of these migrants that they must take even more precautions than other women, and protect themselves even more, then thats important."
Ndiaye and the womens groups in Niomré agree with him and discuss these issues among themselves. They have concluded that they must put pressure on their menfolk, especially those who leave the village and live abroad, to have HIV tests and inform their wives of their status, so that everyone can take precautions.
But those willing to discuss these matters in Niomré also agree that it is an uphill struggle, because AIDS and HIV remained taboo in their village and are not topics aired publicly. Ndiaye and others say individual counselling is a matter of choice and not obligation.
Wade recommends that his compatriots living in other countries, in Senegalese 'villages abroad as he puts it, be it in France, Gabon, the US or elsewhere, "must be sensitized to the problems of AIDS. Even if in those countries AIDS is not a priority, for the Senegalese abroad we must make it a priority. And that goes especially for our compatriots living in high HIV prevalence zones in East Africa and elsewhere. We really have to implement these policies, but the most important thing is education, information and communication - and people must go for HIV tests."
In Louga, a town not far from Niomré, some professional and amateur actors and musicians use a colourful, dynamic and entertaining theatre performance as an education tool, to tell a story of 'wife inheritance - and the hazards and possible tragic consequences - to an audience that is predominantly young, Muslim and committed to the fight against AIDS.
Outside the gates of the sandy compound, where the actors are rushing about on an alfresco stage, local youngsters and adults gather, pressing against the railings to catch the energetic gestures and language of the actors. The message is clearly getting through, to the rapt audience who respond with howls of laughter and nods of approval and agreement. "Open your eyes, before AIDS closes them forever", sings the griot, the musician and narrator, ending a sad tale of spousal inheritance in Louga.
After the theatre sketch, Boubacar Sagna, a teenager, eagerly shared his opinion on wife inheritance in his country. "Its a tradition in some parts of Senegal, but we young people dont do that... We, the younger generation, have learned that you shouldnt do that. We are lucky, we have been educated and we know better. Some of elders were not informed. We know that there is no AIDS vaccine, there is no AIDS aspirin. There is no cure for AIDS, so the only way to avoid AIDS is to be informed and to share this information with others."
Back in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, Yassine Fall, the regional director of Unifem, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, who is herself Senegalese, reiterated the problems generated by the practice of spousal inheritance and spoke of the wider questions being raised by attempts to increase awareness. It had also raised the question of womens rights and violence against women, "and having the courage to address the issue of traditional practices that go against human rights and womens rights."
The Unifem regional director also highlighted other problems for women in Senegal. "They have very little power of sexual negotiation and protection. So there is a mixture of vulnerability and powerlessness".
Fall said the introduction of the female condom was a 'critical tool that was beginning to empower Senegalese women, after a successful, albeit minor, trial by 36 women in eight factories, which had a "good response".
But, said Fall, the comparatively high cost of this female contraceptive, (1200 CFA francs or US$2) compared with male condoms (50 CFA francs, a few US cents or virtually free) was a form of discrimination against women, "denying them the ability to access and negotiate safe sex and decide how to protect themselves."
Yassine Fall lamented the fact that, although the rate of HIV remained low in Senegal, currently one per cent of adults, more women than men were now contracting the AIDS virus - a dramatic change from the early days of the pandemic.
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"In Senegal, before, the proportion of women was much lower than the proportion of men that were infected. But right now, the proportion of women infected is becoming [greater than] that of men - the speed of infection is faster among women."
Fall said field surveys showed that women in Senegal had very little understanding about their sexuality in relation to their bodies and the HIV infection. "Many women know very little about how women get infected by HIV/AIDS through sex, the different forms and also about their reproductive organs and sexually transmitted diseases."
The Unifem regional director said research by her UN agency, and NGO partner, SWAA (the Society of Women Against AIDS in Africa) indicated that both educated and illiterate women in Senegal appeared to have little useful knowledge to help them fight HIV/AIDS. "This brings us to the issue of education. Sex education about HIV infection should not just be dealt with in the school curriculum," she concluded.
Yassine Fall said Senegal was ahead in the battle against AIDS in Africa, because "tremendous" work had been done to sensitise both men and women; but she cautioned that although her country could be justifiably proud of its accomplishments, it must also be "humble, because the battle had not yet been won".
Other articles in the series:
Part 1: A Beacon of Hope in Africa's Fight Against AIDS
Part 2: Living With AIDS - Mabeye's Story
Part 3: Pop Stars and Youth Break Taboos to Spread AIDS Message
Part 4: Prostitution - Frontline of the War to Contain HIV
Part 6: 'This Is My Whole Life' - A Scientist's Dedication to Defeating AIDS
Part 7: Praise for AIDS Success - But the Struggle Continues
