Mount Kenya university

Unit tittle; HIV/AIDS AND DRUG ABUSE

Unit code; BUCU005

Name; EMMA MAKINI NYONGESA

REG NO.BSCIS/2017/81495
LECT NAME; MERCY MUREU

TOPIC; DISCUSS HOW CULTURE AND TRADITION

CONTRIBUTE IN SPREADING HIV/AIDS ACCORDING

TO THE STORY OF EVE

1.Force marriage
 Due to some communities doctrines & taboos they believed that a lady must have a child. In case
there is a sense barren,the lady should exposed to other men to prove her productivity.Due to this
case,women and men follow same taboos and cultural practices such as forceful relationship with a man
in order to get a child,this kind of action may lead to spread of HIV in case the man was infected.in this
case, Eve is forced to have sex with another man hence contracting HIV/AIDS even though she got
pregnant.

2.Wife inheritance

According to the culture of some communities,women without children are forced to be sexually
inherited by other men just to get children.In the process,women are at high risk of getting infected by
HIV/AIDS.just like Eve,in the end , she get isolated by everyone in the community and everyone keeps on
blaming her.

3.Unprotected sexual intercourse

Due to situation whereby the woman was in search for a child,Eve was forced to engage in
unprotected sexual intercourse with the man.Since the man was infected with HIV/AIDS,the woman also
ended up getting infected with the virus.The condition led to her being neglected and blamed by the
community at large and her husband.

4.Cultural believes

Some community believe that a woman without children is cursed ,therefore the woman was
advised to get involved in a sexual intercourse with another man who had HIV/AIDS infection, this led to
her situation of getting infection by the virus leading to her condition of being neglected by everyone in
the community.

5.Low power in the community

In some community,women are given less priority and power of self expression,they are denied
their freedom in a community.Therefore the woman had no authority to refuse the demand from the
elders but to follow and get involve in sexual intercourse with a man infected with HIV/AIDS, and in the
end, she got infected.This led to her condition of being neglected in the community.

6.Genetic unproductive

The problem with reproduction in some community is inherited,therefore the man must have inherit
the gene from his parents.And due to the culture,the lady had no option but to search for a man to
satisfy her with a child hence contracting HIV/AIDS leading to her condition of being neglected.

7.Isolation/stigmatization due to cultural doctrine

Some community cultures show that when a lady is barren,she should be isolated from the
community.Due to the fear of isolation from the the cmmunity, the lady was forced to have a sexual
intercourse with another man infected with HIV/AIDS in search of a child hence contracting the
infection.

8.Nutrition

Different community have different habit of feeding, some community does not eat food which
activate their immune and reproductive system.Due to this men or women may develop any defect or
diseases in their reproductive system.This might be the cause of husband not able to bear a child
causing Eve to search for another man outside their marriage,she then ended up contracting HIV/AIDS
leading to the condition.

9.Low level of education

Low level of education leads to faster decision making. Education is a very key factor in making
decisions or judgment. Educated people dont rush for decisions but look before they leap in

making one. Due to low level of education, the elderly women makes faster decisions to the lady
without considering the risk. They only built their minds and focus on getting a child. Due to this, they
influence Eve to get another man to have a child hence in the end, she ends up being infected with
HIV/AIDS.

10.Economic status of the community.

The economic background is related to the incidence.some communities have low economic status
.Due to that, the husband could not afford to go with his wife for professional medical check up to
identify their condition. This may cause the wife to look for another alternative and she ended up with
another man leading to her current situation or condition

Ref; textbook sexually transmitted disease and HIV/AIDS

By Vinod K. Sharma