Promoting Women’s Leadership
What Works
Promising Strategies
- 1.
- Investment in women’s groups, especially positive women’s networks, can result in policy engagement and change to better meet women’s health and human rights needs.
- 2.
- Formation of a separate women’s network within PLHA networks may empower women living with HIV.
- 3.
- Training on human rights for people living with HIV can increase protection of their rights.
1. Investment in women’s groups, especially positive women’s networks, can result in policy engagement and change to better meet women’s health and human rights needs.
There is an emerging collective empowerment based on knowledge and understanding of rights. Examples include the alliance of the Zimbabwean Network of Positive Women allied with women lawyers to introduce marital rape as a criminal offense in Zimbabwe law and the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, where an alliance of women and lawyers resulted in a ruling that pregnant women have the right to ARVs in pregnancy to reduce the risk of MTCT . This study was based on oral sources, workshops and presentations, and memories of conversations with HIV-positive African women since 1992, as well as qualitative research through interviews conducted in 2000, with 10 HIV-positive African men and women (Manchester, 2004).
Manchester, J. 2004. “Hope, Involvement and Vision: Reflections on Positive Women’s Activision around HIV.” Transformations: Critical perspectives on Southern Africa 54: 85-103. University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Website: www.transformation.und.ac.za
A project that provided training and networking by HIV-positive women with Parliamentarians from their own country – Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania- along with NGOs, provided opportunities for HIV-positive women to comment on upcoming legislation that impacted them.
Parliamentarians for Women’s Health. 2007. “Networking Proves Vital Strategy to Improving Women’s Health Care: Relationships between Parlimentarians and HIV-positive Women Fosters Change.” Washington, DC: ICRW, Centre for the Study of AIDS, University of Pretoria; ICW; and Realizing Rights. www.icrw.org
2. Formation of a women’s forum within PLHA networks may empower women living with HIV.
In India, the Women’s Forum, established in 2007, has provided training on legal literacy and advocated for shelter and livelihood support for widows living with HIV. In July 2007, a National Women’s Forum led by a seven member committee was established in India to mainstream gender issues within the Indian Network of People Living with HIV (INP+), which is a national network in 22 states with membership of over 105,000. The male: female ratio of PLHA is 100:60. Though 48% of members within INP+ are women, gender issues are not adequately represented within INP+ governance or nationally. Women living with HIV suffer from low levels of awareness on legal rights, limited social protection and restricted access to treatment, as well as lack of decision- making, violence and stigma.
Goswami, J., D. Patel, A. Kurian, S. Sokh and D. Tanuka. 2008. “National Women’s Forum: A Model to Address Rights and Issues of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (WLHA) and Children.” Abstract WEPE0803. XVII International AIDS Conference. Mexico City, Mexico. August 3-8.
3. Training on human rights for people living with HIV can increase protection of their rights.
The AIDS Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) trained 684 participants representing AIDS service organizations, women’s groups and others on human rights and HIV/AIDS, resulting in increased protection of rights. Participants came from Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia. Results included a Charter of Rights for People Living with HIV in the Democratic Republic of Congo, removing the clause on criminalization of transmission in Mauritius and inclusion of harm reduction in legislation in Mauritius.