African women are vulnerable to deadly diseases due to gender and social-economic based factors that expose them to dangers of contracting diseases.
This was observed by the director of the Institute of Women and Gender Development Egerton University Dr.Rose Odhiambo when he addressed a Gender and Health Workshop at the university on Friday.
According to Odhiambo African women especially those in rural areas easily contract diseases like HIV and Aids and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases even though they remain faithful to their men because most African Cultural traits on gender restrict them from restraining their husbands’ behaviours.
She further noted that young girls and women in rural African setups are vulnerable to induced sex and rape that also exposes them to contracting deadly diseases.
“Research shows that about 65 percent of people in Africa who are suffering from deadly diseases like HIV and Aids and other STD’s are women. This is because most African traditions do not allow women to monitor their husband’s sexual lives,” said Odhiambo.
“They stay at home and wait for their husbands to come back to them. Our young women are also vulnerable to rape incidences that are common in rural areas and informal urban areas,’’ observed Odhiambo.
Odhiambo added that other African oriented practices against women in Africa including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), forced marriages and wife inheritance also highly contribute to contraction of deadly diseases among women in the continent.
He called upon gender and health researchers and stakeholders to carry out research on ways of promoting safe health conditions for women in Africa.