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Bringing Rights Home: A Comparative Analysis of Human Rights and Women's Vulnerability to HIV in Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe
Gabriella Rask
Paperback. ProQuest, UMI Dissertation Publishing 2011-09-04.
ISBN 9781243603012
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Förlagets beskrivning
This thesis examines the adaptation to internationally recognized human rights norms with a focus on laws protecting women in Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. This has been done with the aim of identifying legislation and traditional practices that are increasing women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and hampering the long term success of national prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programs implemented in these countries.
A comparative approach is employed to identify domestic conditions, which enable or hinder the obligations set forth by international human rights law concerning women's rights and to examine the extent to which women are enjoying these rights. A most similar systems research design is used in this thesis to control for variation among cases. Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe were selected as case studies because they are located at the epicenter of the HIV epidemic where women represent over half of the people living with HIV, they have pluralistic legal systems (Civil Law, Common law, and Customary law), ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women without reservation, and finally, they have all implemented national prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programs.
The findings of the comparative analysis reveal that when gender equality is enshrined in national constitutions without exception, laws are better adapted to protect women's rights. In South Africa, where the Constitution is universal, domestic legislation has been much better harmonized with international human rights law as compared to Botswana and Zimbabwe where this process has not been as successful. In the latter two countries, African customary law is exempt from provisions protecting against gender discrimination, in the respective constitutions. Traditional practices, discriminating against women are thus, by law, not prohibited in Botswana or Zimbabwe. The findings also show that although South Africa has enacted laws protecting women from gender discrimination, domestic violence remains a prevalent problem in society and is continuing to put African women at increased risk of HIV infection. The same situation is found in Botswana and Zimbabwe where girls and women are predominantly victims of rape and battery, regardless of marital status.
The principal conclusion is that although the governments of Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe recognize that gender inequalities are hampering HIV/AIDS prevention programs, domestic legislation is either lacking or fails to ensure the human rights of women according to international and regional instruments to which the countries are party. Still, much more remains to be done to bring human rights home to women in Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe
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Bringing Rights Home: A Comparative Analysis of Human Rights and Women's Vulnerability to HIV in Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe
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