Some "Aha" Moments in Africa

A few years ago I had to do a research paper for my English 2020 class and we had to do it on something that we were interested in and something that related in some way to our major or what we wanted to do in life. I am a nursing student at UVU, and I decided to do it on a health related subject that I have always been interested in: HIV and AIDS. I thought a lot about the subject and I decided that I really wanted to research what was the best way to end HIV and AIDS globally. I researched different treatment options and research that was being done to cure AIDS, but ultimately my research led me to believe that the best and only way to end HIV/AIDS is through education. That was why I was so excited to learn about this study abroad to Ghana to teach HIV and AIDS prevention. This was exactly what my research led me to find out, and I was so excited that I was going to be able to follow up on something I believed in strongly and knew that what I was going to do is the ultimate answer in ending the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

In my research I found that there are many barriers in the African culture that would need to be overcome in order to educate the people. Many barriers deal with stigmas that are associated with AIDS, and myths that people still believe are true such as sleeping with a virgin will cure you if you have HIV/AIDS. But one of the biggest barriers I stumbled upon while during writing my paper was the inequality between men and women. In my research I read that men had the power, and the women were voiceless. I read how women would not get themselves tested due to the stigma that would be associated with them if they were positive. Many of the women would be thrown out of the house and not be able to get the job, so they believed it was better to just not know. The women could not insist on a condom for fear of risking accusations or abuse. These things horrified me, I had never heard of such inequality before and this out of anything I read in my research stuck out to me the most. yet, these things I read and researched about did not hit home until I got here to Ghana and actually experienced them first hand from the people that live here and deal with it on a daily basis.

We were teaching a women’s group in Manya Krobo our Overcoming HIV/AIDS program, and I think it was one of the most exciting, interesting and frustrating days we have had teaching the program. We were teaching the condom lesson to the girls, and one of the educators had brought a male and a female condom to demonstrate how to use each. The teacher of the girls asked us if she could use the female condom without the male knowing about it. I was so frustrated, and it was such a hard question for me to hear especially coming from their teacher, a person they look up to and are trying to learn from. We told the teacher, “no, part of the condom is on the outside of the body, it’s not hidden” and that sex should be consensual and partners should know each other and trust each enough and have talked about sex and the use of condoms before engaging in any sexual activities. She nodded, but I could see that she did not agree, or knew that was not a possibility for women to have a voice in the decision. I was teaching the lesson, with two other students, on how HIV/AIDS affect women specifically. We were asking them if it was okay if a boyfriend forced sex on a girlfriend, and almost immediately and shouting, the girl’s said, “NO!”. Then we asked the same question this time about husbands and wives, and they answered not as quickly or as enthusiastically, but they still replied no. But like the teacher, you could tell the girls were not convinced about their answer to us. We told them that men and women are equal, that they were just as important as the men in their community. The pastor who was translating asked us if we were talking about Africa or America. I was in shock that the pastor, who was helping promote HIV/AIDS prevention, still had such biased opinions. As we continued to reiterate that men and women are equal, the pastor said, “Men and women are equal only in sex”. No wonder there is such inequality when the leaders in the community advocate it.

The day teaching in Manya Krobo was such an eye-opening experience for me, and my experiences only grew the more we taught, and the more we talked to the Ghanaian people. We were teaching an older women’s church group and we were teaching our women lesson and asked them the same questions as we asked the girls at Manya Krobo. We asked if it was okay if a husband forced a wife into having sex, would it be considered rape? They boldly said, “No, it is not rape. When you are married you must please your husband”. We asked them if they could say no to their husbands, and they said they could except if they did they would be beaten. By saying you did not want to have sex was showing that you did not need it from him, and were getting it somewhere else. There was one younger woman in the group, and she said that if her husband were to force her or cheat on her, she would leave him and get a divorce. This night gave me a little hope that perhaps the younger generations were changing their mind even just a little.

We were talking to a taxi driver on our way home from the mall and he asked us what we were here for and we said we were teaching HIV and AIDS prevention. He immediately responded, “Yes! One lover!”. We were excited and said, “Yes one lover, do you have one lover?” and he replied, “No, I have two lovers, but I am faithful to both of them”. We asked him how that worked and he told us he had one wife and one girlfriend and that was it and that he loved them both. We asked him if it would be okay if his wife had a boyfriend and he replied, “No, it cannot be possible” and we asked him why not and he said, “Because in Africa, the men have all the power”. The inequality between men and women was becoming more apparent the longer we were in Ghana. The fact that the taxi driver was so open and willing to share his story and opinions showed me that this was not an uncommon story here.

My time here in Ghana showed me that the problem to solving the gender inequality was a lot bigger than my mind had imagined, and probably still bigger and more difficult that I am imagining now. When feeling at a loss after teaching our women’s lesson one night we were discussing the women inequality with our good friend Ama and we asked her what she thought would work to change the minds of the people, and to solve the gender inequality. She told us many interesting things but she told us we need to teach the young people, we need to continue educating the young because the older people are not going to change their mindset. She told us “just keep educating the young, just educate them”. I believe this is true we need to educate the younger generations that they are equal, that they are worth it, and they have a right to a voice in their lives and in their decisions. The stories I have heard and the experiences I have had here in Ghana are far more powerful than anything in any article I have ever read and I am so grateful that I was able to come and learn from the people of Ghana and hopefully make a little change that will inspire a bigger and better change for the future.