interesting approach to reduce the aids epidemic
a lawmaker in uganda has pleged to pay the tuition for any girls (no boys) from his district who remains a virgin when she leaves school. the girls will have to submit to a gynecological exam administered by health workers.
a nationwide education campaign helped curtail rates in uganda from 30% to 6%, but the Kayunga district is still suffering greatly. it's this lawmaker's attempt to reduce the AIDS infection rate in his district. he wants to promote both girls' education as well as healthy and responsible choices.
i'm all for anything that will help reduce the epidemic. i think for a developing country where many youths cannot pursue higher education because of financial constraints, this could be a great plan. what do you think? i can't imagine what would happen if a US resident offered a similar deal.
zw, here's the link you wanted http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/07/20/uganda.virgins.reut/
a nationwide education campaign helped curtail rates in uganda from 30% to 6%, but the Kayunga district is still suffering greatly. it's this lawmaker's attempt to reduce the AIDS infection rate in his district. he wants to promote both girls' education as well as healthy and responsible choices.
i'm all for anything that will help reduce the epidemic. i think for a developing country where many youths cannot pursue higher education because of financial constraints, this could be a great plan. what do you think? i can't imagine what would happen if a US resident offered a similar deal.
zw, here's the link you wanted http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/07/20/uganda.virgins.reut/
posted by happy roy at 2:37 PM
4 Comments:
link?
Thanks, Julie.
Anyway: Bad Idea.
1) Backlash. Any time something is set up for women only, men go out of their minds (google "Men's Rights Activism" and look for their screeds against women's shelters, f'rinstance). If this policy goes into effect, look for an increase in general violence towards women, including
2) Rape. In 2000, there were 4,209 REPORTED cases (cite) of "defilement", a colloquialism for what is known to us as Raping Children. Good luck coming up with tuition, kids - doesn't matter if you were raped, you're still
3) Dirty, dirty whores. The MP talks about the risks involved in "unprotected sex", but by explicitly rewarding abstinence, he implies that protected sex isn't worth rewarding, when it's arguably more valuable to society than abstinence. If only virgins are worthy, then the system ends up denigrating girls who want to have sex and are smart about it.
A good plan minimizes risk. This? Not so much.
At first glance, it may be a novel idea, but, in the end, very intrusive. That would not fly in the US.
It definetly wouldn't fly in the US -- its a whole right to privacy and right for a woman to do what she wants with her body - way to sensitive in the US.
But considering I dont know a lot about other countries and their women's movements -- it could possibly work and if that means women are getting a free education then i am for it.
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