Congo: are women with disabilities excluded in the fight against AIDS?

The Congo, like every other country in the world, celebrates World AIDS Day every year on first of December. Within the framework of the fight against HIV/AIDS, women with disabilities are often affected and infected, but also neglected, by AIDS organizations. It is necessary to intervene so that these women are not further marginalized. They should have the same opportunities to fiercely fight against HIV/AIDS.

They require access to information on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. In the Congo, not enough is being done to satisfy the real needs of HIV positive women in rural areas and those with disabilities.

To live with a disability does not mean to be sexually inactive

Women with disabilities are exposed to the HIV virus. They are often characterized as living in a world apart, not valued in general society, and are the victims of isolationism and discrimination. If they are infected with HIV/AIDS, their HIV status causes even greater discrimination.

In the Congo, there is a lack of commitment to this vulnerable group - an oversight which leads directly to the propagation of HIV/AIDS.

Women with disabilities are not incapable of contracting AIDS. A woman with a disability can maintain a healthy sexual relationship. She may, however, also be more vulnerable to acts of sexual violence. All women with disabilities have the right to be informed about HIV/AIDS and, further more, our constitution grants the right to health for all citizens. Why then exclude women with disabilities from the major programmesin the fight against AIDS? Faced with being forgotten, these women must actively involve themselves and claimtheir rights.

In search of security they become more vulnerable.

Among these women with disabilities, there are some who are deaf, mute, blind, physically impaired, and albino who require professional care.

Often, their own families abuse them. Instead of protecting these women, their families throw them to the streets, where they are the victims of physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence. These women may also develop a dependence on drugs and alcohol - substances that frequently lead to unprotected sexual relations.

Ignorant of their rights, they are left defenseless.

The majority of women with disabilities in the Congo, especially those living in rural communities, do not know their rights. Only a few have received any education or become members of AIDS associations. The women feel that they are always being manipulated and so they prefer to remain silent.

Having realized this, Georgette Medja, from the ‘Association Handicap sans Frontières’, has become one of the civil society leaders fighting for the rights of women with disabilities. She affirms that, ” women with disabilities living with HIV/AIDS must recognize that they have a right to health and wellness, to communication, to the same care and treatment as all women.”

There are systems in place to free these women from their struggles, but the women haven’t taken advantage, either because they don’t know where to go or because they are too afraid.

A Call to all AIDS Organizations

It’s not unusual to encounter certain women in search of information who will confide in someone at an AIDS organisation.

This thirst for information on HIV/AIDS on the part of women with disabilities must be quenched. State organizations and the organisationscooperating in the fight against AIDS are equally responsible to provide the necessary services. Sylvie Niombo, the executive director of AZUR Development, who actively advocates for the rights of humans with HIV/AIDS, said “the fight against AIDS is doubtlessly directed first at those social groups which are most vulnerable. However, HIV/AIDS is not selective in choosing its victims. Resources must be allocated to fight HIV/AIDS as it effects women with disabilities.”

Unfortunately, organizations wishing to work on HIV/AIDS with women with disabilities have experienced difficulty securing local and reliable financing.

These women need moral, psychological, and financial support. For the blind, mute, and deaf, appropriate interpreters are needed to explain certain facts and to keep the women abreast of their current situation. World AIDS Day should be an opportunity for women with disabilities to express themselves and to advocate for greater actions in their favor. Because HIV/AIDS affects us all us.

Blandine Louzolo