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Activism, gender, ART

Activism, gender, ART. Elina Oinas Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala Sweden elina.oinas@nai.uu.se in collaboration with Katarina Jungar. Treatment Action Campaign.

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Activism, gender, ART

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  1. Activism, gender, ART Elina Oinas Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala Sweden elina.oinas@nai.uu.se in collaboration with Katarina Jungar

  2. Treatment Action Campaign

  3. Our bodies are the evidence of global inequality and injustice. They are not mere metaphors for the relationship between inequality and disease. But our bodies are also the sites of resistance. We do not die quietly. We challenge global inequality. Our resistance gives us dignity. In the Treatment Action Campaign, the voices of our comrades, friends and children echo around the world to resist injustice. Our voices demand life even as our bodies resist death.” • (Achmat, John Foster Lecture, 10.11. 2004.)

  4. ‘When treatment was available, people were much more likely to go for HIV tests […]. Once people knew their status they were more likely to practice safe sex and, if they needed it, to seek treatment’ (Nomfundo Dubula in Cape Times, 2003)

  5. SA Commission on Gender Equity on 01.04.03 TAC activist Sipho Mthathi: The point is that all the education we do in the world, is not going to become a reality, if people are still fearing HIV, because for them it is still a death sentence, because there is no treatment.

  6. CommunityKnowledgeAntiretrovirals

  7. THE PRIVATE IS POLITICAL ON • PERSONAL • COMMUNITY • LOCAL • NATIONAL • GLOBAL LEVELS

  8. numbers • 23.3 million persons in sub-Saharan Africa were living with HIV infection or AIDS by the end of 1999, accounting for nearly 70% of the estimated 33.6 million individuals living with HIV/AIDS worldwide (UN-AIDS/WHO 1999)”. (Painter 2001, 1397). • South Africa is having the fastest growing epidemic in the world with most of the newly infected being women and at least 50,000 South Africans becoming infected with HIV each month (Rees, 1998).” (Wojcicki & Malala 2001, 99) • It is estimated that by 2005, only 13 percent of the South African population will live to celebrate their 40th birthdays, if these current trends continue (Marais, 2000)”. (Taylor et al. 2002, 69).

  9. “When they are just saying you must condomize. You must protect yourself. What aboutthe infected ones? Where do they go?”TAC-activist 30/5 2003

  10. Nomfundo Dubula:“ TAC is very strong in Khayelitsha so I can speak openly about my status. There is Nomfundo, there is Judith who is going to support you. So for those two reasons [you can be open]. The other reason is that there are HIV dedicated clinics for opportunistic infections. There is antiretrovirals so people have hope that they are going to live longer. So all those are giving strength to people and hope to people. That is why Khayelitsha is the big place, known worldwide for its people that are living openly with HIV.”Nomfundo Dubula & Judith Dlulani, interview 13.05.03

  11. INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR “…those conducting interventions for this age group have an opportunity to bring changes to reduce vulnerability to HIV through fostering and developing more equitable, safe, democratic and joyful norms of behavior.” (Morrell et al, 2002, 11) POLITICAL MOBILISATION: community, knowledge, treatment “And until people are beginning to understand that [that HIV can be treated] by seeing other people waking up from their death bed because of treatment, we are not going to change peoples perceptions, we are not going to change behavior because the value of life is not significant in South Africa, because people continue to die whilewe know fully well what we can do to save peoples lives” TAC-activist Sipho Mthathi

  12. CommunitieswhereCritical thinkingKnowledge generationEngagementDemocracyAnti-neo-liberal-individualismare practiced

  13. away from dichotomies • self – social • body – social • social - medical Resist an individualistic achievement and self esteem oriented instrumental view on health

  14. Empowerment & health • Health as a socially situated agency, where materiality of bodies and bio-technological possibilities are central but not only ingredients • Justice and collective agency

  15. Politics? • Global rights • Welfare state model • Politization of HIV also a de-stigmatizing practice BUT Other types of collective action, engagement Other types of health care service models

  16. Nwabisa Njaba:“I think I started in my school, disclosing in my school. I did it in front of people. Yes, I started in my school when I was educating them. They didn’t believe that there could be someone who is HIV positive like me, who looks like me, who is so beautiful, yeah all like that yeah.”interview, 08.06.03

  17. Nomfundo Dubula:”So use condoms, if they say condoms break and condoms do this and this they are lying. So you must not repeat my mistakes. But my mistakes must be your learning areas. You must learn from my mistakes. I never used condoms because I was oppressed. But then now you must learn from what I did. I’ve got HIV.”

  18. Judith Dlulani:“I am counseling people even at work. You know I am working in the bank. The other day, the other guy came to collect a bank statement. And I say, “oh shit, 9 o’clock. Let me take my tablets”. And he said, “What is this tablets for?” I say, “For HIV” And he ask “Are you HIV positive?” I say, “Yes”. And he keeps quiet. And after a week he came back. […] he told me that he was HIV positive but hadn’t told his wife. He’s got TB, so he is taking TB treatment. I said to him “Just go to TAC offices. Learn about your disease. But you have to use condom, because now you are spreading your disease. It might happen that your wife doesn’t have HIV, you know. So you must learn about it in a textbook.” And I bring him some books to read, you know. And after that, after a week he came back to me and said: “I did tell my wife.”

  19. Nwabisa Njaba:“Some females are still scared of like saying to their boyfriends ”Lets use a condom”. If the boyfriend didn’t say that. Some girls are still scared of that, but still there are those ones who are strong and say ”Lets use a condom” especially TAC just because they know the risks. You’re from TAC, they know the risk of not using a condom. They know that if you are HIV negative you must use a condom. You can be faithful to your boyfriend, but you must use a condom, yeah”

  20. Funerals as political sites ” …600 people a day are dying of HIV/Aids. We want ordinary people in South Africa to have these anti-retrovirals” (Cape Times, April 25, 2003) Poet and TAC-activist Edward Mabunda in recorded press message the night before he died

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