Introduction

The current study compares three interpretations of women and the transmission of HIV in Malawi. The focus lies on what the interpretations say are the women’s motivations for extramarital sex. The three interpretations and case studies shall be named A (The Geneva Model), B (The Lilongwe Model) and C (The Balaka Rhetoric).

Interpretation A: The Geneva Model

This interpretation contains the view of the array of global institutions that are mobilized against the epidemic. It includes representatives of global agencies, western governments with a global reach and international non-governmental organizations. The Geneva Model considers AIDS to be epidemiological, spread from reservoirs of infectio by vectors of transmission. Initially, there were Pattern A countries, where AIDS was transmitted by men having sex with men. The reservoirs of infection were the men who frequented bath-houses. However, Pattern A countries could not include all countries. This led to Pattern B countries. The women of primary interest in this interpretation are commercial sex workers who are viewed as reservoirs of HIV infection. These women are considered poor, powerless and passionless. The Geneva Model states that the motivation for the women to sell their bodies is due to difficulties in meeting their basic needs, being powerless to resist men’s advances. Also no mention is made about the women’s own sexual desires.

Interpretation B: The Lilongwe Model

This is the interpretation by the governmental and non-governmental organizations that are involved in the HIV/AIDS prevention in the capital cities of sub-Saharan Africa. From this perspective, women only engage in transactional sex for survival. The vulnerability of the women is emphasized. It is said that women may seek outside partners due to the harsh realities of economic needs. Women and girls are said to succumb to unreasonable sexual demands of men. Also a combination of poverty and outdated cultural practices is said to have forced girls to drop out of school and get married to older men.

Interpretation C: The Balaka Rhetoric

This interpretation is articulated by married women and men from rural Malawi. The contrast between this interpretation and the first two is more striking. Women are seen as poor, but not as powerless or passionless. Women’s extramarital sexual partnerships often have a monetary aspect, but it is motivated not only by poverty. It is also motivated by aspirations for attractive customer goods and by sexual desire. Also, with regards to these sexual relationships, women have considerable power and autonomy and women can get their way.

Why are these interpretations so different from each other?

A speculative explanation for these different interpretations is based on the idea that what a person sees depends on where she, or he, stands. Since most research projects are conducted by men in capital cities, they have quite different standpoints then those of the rural women they are investigating. The lack of public acknowledgement of and discourse about women’s desires and power in the agencies of the first two interpretations, subtly reinforces women’s vulnerabilities.