The Silent Partner - HIV in Marriage video shows that we live in a male dominating world. Yes, this world is changing and bringing rights to women but at what cost. Male domination is not only practiced in Kenya but throughout the world. The video shows that it’s okay for men to do anything he pleases and women should obey his every decision. Women cannot even have a say in usage of contraceptive which can save her from getting infected. Just because men are providing, doesn’t mean women cannot have a say in anything. Customs and tradition has added to women pain and suffering, custom such as dowry gets men to thinking that they own women. Women are owned by their father and then when they get married there husband buys them in the name of dowry which means they are taking complete ownership of that woman. It brings me to a documentary that I saw about Female Infanticide in India. In India and most of South East Asia dowry is where bride’s father pay’s groom family as compare to dowry in Africa where groom pays bride’s family. In this documentary daughters are killed the day that they are born and, the reason is that parents cannot afford to raise the daughter and needs to pay dowry required by groom’s family. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnmtKLQRh6g. These documentaries show that women are not in power. They cannot make decision about their life and their life is been constantly handling by male. It all comes down to illiteracy among people. Educations about usage of contraceptive early on can save lives. In sub-Saharan Africa, home to two-thirds of the world’s people living with HIV, women make up 60 percent of those infected. Places like Africa and Kenya needs special attention from their government and NGO’s they should organize a program which not only teaches women but also men about the benefit of contraceptive. Most men transmit STI’s to women and then die from it. Condoms play a key role in preventing HIV infection if these men are given proper knowledge infection rate will go down. I hope that social and economic inequalities between men and women can come to an end.
Wow! It is so hard to imagine a life in which women were not able to be an equal part in a relationship. I grew up in a family where my parents are equal partners and did not make decision without consulting with one another. I will have a relationship the same. There is not other option in my eyes. I am the youngest of 4 girls and we were raised that no one is better than us, especially a man. I am so thankful we don't have to wory about a dowry or not being able to decide how many children to have. These types of videos put in to perspective how far advanced our country is in relation to other developing countries. Thank God for being born in America.
ReplyDeleteKerri
I really enjoyed reading your post. It was very informative and I agree with you on many aspects of your post. I found it really interesting to hear about how in the documentary the fathers kill their daughters as soon as they are born because they can't afford to raise them. That's so cruel! And I also can't believe how they use these poor children as their sex slaves...so disgusting!! :(
ReplyDeleteCarla Keeley
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI believe that one day the sociatal inequalities between men and women as well a social clases will come to an end. We as women have already made such a tramendous stand for equality with both personal god given rights as well as in the health care system.