AIDS has become a gender-based disease in Africa where women and girls are most at risk. In Malawi, women represent 56.8 per cent of HIV-positive adults. In many parts of Africa, girls are born into a society where they have no rights. Many face marital rape and men refusing to use condoms.
Esther, Grace and Maria are among the strongest women in Malawi. Esther has dedicated the past 16 years of her life to Ekwendeni's AIDS hospital. She has witnessed the increase of children orphaned by AIDS in the catchment areas and she strives to stretch a small budget to cover a destitute community's needs.
Grace is the coordinator of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission program at the hospital. Thanks to this program, mothers and other women caring for young children have a space to gather and share and be educated on how to care for a potentially sick infant if and when they might be sick themselves.
Maria learned that she was infected with AIDS in 1998 and has since decided to go public with her HIV status and share her story with others. This was very courageous as many people are afraid to have contact with an HIV-positive person and as a result, many are ostracized. I spent an afternoon with Maria near Lake Malawi and realized that she really is the perfect role model for Malawian women. She has lived a difficult life and is raising her own children as well as some of her nieces and nephews who have lost their own parents. She was recently appointed assistant home-based care supervisor and teaches people the importance of knowing their HIV status. To help make ends meet she works with beads making AIDS ribbon pins. As I watched her nimble fingers work to make as many pins as possible, it occurred to me that perhaps Maria had been chosen as one of God's messengers and she is telling people about the light. Even in a world of darkness, where HIV and AIDS, poverty and discrimination and stigma are everywhere, the light still shines and people who meet Maria spread this light to others.
Maria has a wonderful sense of humour and a great desire to live. While the rest of us were swimming, she stood by and watched us shyly. I gave her a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and told her to join us. She told me that she hadn't been swimming since 1998. Watching her splash around, giggling and laughing like a school girl and attempt the front crawl was a moving moment for me. As I thought about all she had told me about her past, I was glad to see her laugh.
Women continue to be afraid to voice their opinions and concerns for fear of being victimized. Esther, Grace and Maria all seem to have realized that in order to bring about change in their societies it is essential to question all assumptions, be informed, speak out and take responsibility for one's life.
