AEGiS-14IAC: Money, men and markets: Limitations to sexual health empowerment of market women in southwestern Uganda.

14th International AIDS Conference


Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

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Money, men and markets: Limitations to sexual health empowerment of market women in southwestern Uganda.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. MoOrE1112)

Nyanzi B, Nyanzi S, Wolff B, Whitworth JA
Medical Research Council/ Uganda Virus Research Institute, P.O.Box 49, Entebbe, Uganda

BACKGROUND: Market work requires access to cash, independent decision-making, high levels of mobility and social interaction. We studied whether cash empowerment leads to better sexual negotiation power or sexual health for women. METHODS 12 focus group discussions and 60 indepth interviews were conducted among market women in rural and urban south-western Uganda.

RESULTS: Market women have wide sexual networks, social autonomy, high mobility, access to cash from their job and loans, and can be assertive in trade. Thus they are socially empowered. However cash empowerment and public employment ostracizes market-women, gaining them masculine social labels. Market women are characterised as kiwagi variously defined as independent, obstinate, rebellious, insurbodinate, self reliant. Access to cash does not always equate to control over it: financial responsibility- a culturally male gender role, is shifted to these women because they earn money. Respondents' norms, attitudes and self identity reflect partriarchal subordination to men. Their empowerment is not necessarily applied in sexual relationships, as many women reported that they cannot bargain for contracpetive and condom-use, initiate or refuse sex, or determine the number of children to bear. Decision-making about sexuality is pre-dominated by male partners. Despite high levels of social interactioon, participants still had low levels of information and held several misconceptions about reproductive health.

CONCLUSION: Cash empowerment does not necessarily translate into sexual health empowerment. Issues of sexual negotiation and health should be directly addressed.

Keywords: AEGIS, Sex Behavior, Safe Sex, Health, Interpersonal Relations, Power (Psychology), Sexuality, Uganda, Sex Education, Negotiating, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Sex, Attitude to Health, Human, Male, Female, Child, EconomicsKWDaegis,sexbehavior,safesex,health,interpersonalrelations,power(psychology),sexuality,uganda,sexeducation,negotiating,healthknowledge,attitudes,practice,sex,attitudetohealth,human,male,female,child,economics

020707
MoOrE1112

Copyright © 2002 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.