Female Empowerment and HIV : Fighting Gender Roles and a Deadly Disease

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the role of female empowerment and NGOs in HIV-prevention. A case study from Babati, northern Tanzania, is presented as part of my investigation and will affiliate theory with reality. Further the study is based on feminist and postcolonial theory as well as gender perspectives on HIV and AIDS. A persons gender determines how vulnerable that person is to HIV and related consequences; I will claim that HIV and AIDS threaten women to a greater extent then men and that women’s abilities to empowerment are negatively affected as well. I will also claim that female empowerment is a necessary mean to prevent HIV and that this involves a more profound change than solely equal distribution of resources. My study will show how female subordination permeates all societal structures and how this is perceived by NGOs and others in Babati when addressing the HIV- pandemic and its effect on women. I will describe the grass-root actions taken by the NGOs to deal with this and what obstacles they encounter.