Elanso

AIDS statistics in Zambia are staggering:

*There are approximately one million people who are infected with AIDS in Zambia.
*The life expectancy of somebody born in Zambia is under 40, mostly due to the impact AIDS/HIV has had on this society.
*About 57% of those infected with the AIDS virus are women.
*Of these women infected with AIDS, those who are between the ages of 15 and 24 are twice as likely to be infected as men of the same age. Between the ages of 14 and 19, that ratio jumps to six times as likely to be infected as men of the same age. 

One woman who is committed to change the tide of the AIDS epidemic is First Lady of Zambia, Maureen Mwanawasa. At a female condom promotion being held in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, Mwanawasa was seen handing out free female condoms to the throngs of supporters present. As she stated, “Negotiating for safer sex is a term that has become accepted worldwide, yet, it puts a woman at the mercy of a man. I do not believe that a woman should negotiate for safer sex, but demand safer sex.” By helping to promote the female condom campaign, Mwanawasa is pushing for women to respect themselves enough that they would take the initiative in procuring and wearing the female condoms to have safe sex. Mwanawasa is challenging anybody who will listen to promote and practice safe sex consistently in order to slow and eventually cease the spread of the AIDS epidemic.

An advocate of equality between the genders, Mwanawasa is urging women to feel empowered enough to take the reins of safe sex, especially considering the fact they are the majority of those infected with AIDS. A huge factor behind this is the present inequality of the genders, something Mwanawasa is rushing to change. In Zambia, women are discriminated against in daily life and are the ones who struggle the most with extreme poverty every single day. In addition, initiating safer sex for a woman has been an uphill battle in part because men are usually seen as the power figure of the relationship.

Mwanawasa and other activists calling for gender equality understand that women can be influential forces if given leadership roles in education and economic development. However, with the AIDS epidemic taking hold of so many of the country’s women, it is hard to promote leadership with a crisis at hand. This is why the first lady, herself, came out to speak and pass out the new FC2 condom. There are currently over 200,000 of these female condoms ready to be distributed at no cost. One drawback is that those women who live within the city limits have much easier access to these free condoms than those women in live in rural areas.  Regardless, those present at the speech and distribution had nothing but praise for the first lady: “Our first lady must be commended for the job well done; it is the first to happen in Zambia where the first lady goes to mix with women from the densely populated areas and distribute the condoms herself; women must emulate her.” As Mwanawasa stated in her speech, it is high time that the woman of Zambia “demand the protection and equality that is their right.”