Melissa Browning Notes October 10, 2012 Mary E. Hunt and Wendy Mallette
2. Melissa tries to de-center herself as a researcher and
allow the women in the research speak. She encourages all teleconference participants
to watch the video of Veronica’s interview, which can be found at: http://vimeo.com/18675505. If anyone is
interested in teaching on this material, email Melissa at mb@melissabrowning.com for more audio
and video clips of interview that may be shared in classroom settings.
3. Melissa’s began her work in East Africa in 1998 as an
undergraduate student. Her most recent research takes place in Mwanza, Tanzania
around issues of HIV and AIDS and Christian marriage (Slide 2). In interviewing
women she discovered that marriage is a risk factor for HIV and AIDS. In sub-Saharan
Africa, HIV is primarily spread through heterosexual sex in relationships. Many
of her research participants explained that it easier to be a girlfriend than
to be a wife because a woman’s economic viability is tied to her husband,
making it harder to demand that the husband be faithful or use condom. Mwanza
has a particularly high rate of HIV and AIDS, especially among women, due to
its male-controlled fishing and trade industries.
4. Her primary research partners included Diocese of
Victoria Nyanza Anglican Church and other groups with HIV and AIDS support
groups where she gathered participants for her research (Slide 3). She utilized
the participatory action research methodology, which gives research
participants epistemological priority. Over four months she met with a group of
12 HIV+ women, 8 of whom had contracted HIV in marriage (Slide 4). It was a
diverse group of women whose contributions on questions and issues surrounding
HIV and AIDS and Christian marriage varied widely (Slide 5). She also had a
research advocate who assisted with cultural barriers in the research.
5. Participatory action research model is based on the work
of Paulo Freire. It seeks to evoke hidden themes in women’s lives (Slide 6). It
follows the cycle of plan, act, observe, and reflect. One example of this
methodology is as follows: During one session, the women were talking about
women’s roles in society. As an activity, they made a plan to use digital cameras
to take pictures of women doing work. The pictures were then used to lead the
group into a discussion about women’s roles in marriage the following week.
Other creative means including art, photography, and drama were used by women
to access themes in their lives.
6. Book Outline (Slide 7)
- 1. “It’s Better To Be Single”: Thinking about marriage in the midst of an epidemic
- 2. “Let’s Talk About Trust, Baby”: HIV and AIDS vulnerabilities and intimate relationships
- 3. Love and Sacrifice: The boundaries of self and conceptions of love
- 4. Learning From Stigma: Living as an outcast in intimate relationships
- 5. Re-Imaging Christian Marriage in the Midst of an Epidemic
7. Statistics on HIV and
AIDS (Slide 8)
- 40 million people in our world are now living with HIV and AIDS and two-thirds are in Africa.
- Of the HIV and AIDS related deaths in 2006, two-thirds were in Africa.
- Of those living with HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, 59% are women and girls, and the population segment with the fastest growing rate of infection is girls aged 15-24.
8. Her research concluded that Christian marriage in East
Africa actually exacerbates the HIV and AIDS pandemic (Slide 9). The pandemic made marriage
more dangerous for women because of patriarchy present in marriage.
9. She turned to the abstinence-versus-condom debate present
in the literature on HIV and AIDS globally, especially under George W. Bush’s
PEPFAR aid policy: 33% - abstinence, 33% - be faithful, and 33% - condoms
(Slide 10). Melissa argues that this is a false debate: neither abstinence nor
condoms protect when women don't have complete agency to chose condoms or
abstinence, especially when women’s bodies become commodities. She also argues
that the global debate on HIV and AIDS often centers on behavior modification and
on minimizing sexual partners, but the debate looks at sexual ethics without
considering other social ethics of concerns such as access to healthcare,
trading sex for food, the commodification of women’s bodies, etc. Therefore
Melissa concludes that in such a patriarchal system, “abstinence, be faithful,
and condoms” are not very helpful because they are not woman-controlled
prevention methods.
Melissa also analyzed condom commercials from East Africa in
her research condom. One example can be found here: http://vimeo.com/21454014 (Slide 11). These
ads (for the condom brand Trust, for example) spread various false notions such
as: safe sex is for strangers (not those in committed relationships), only men
carry condoms, and men control the use of condoms. Melissa also noted that this
misinformation makes marriage look safe when really, it is not (Slide 12).
10. Another major focus of Melissa’s research was particular
vulnerabilities within intimate relationships.
HIV and AIDS Vulnerabilities and Intimate
Relationships (Slide 13)
· Sex is Taboo
o
Taboo
speech (blood, sex, bodily fluids, death); Negotiations for “safe” sex
· Modern Life (in Postcolonial Space)
o
Fragmented
families (urban migration); movement of goods (trucking)
· Traditional Practices
o
Bridewealth;
Female circumcision; Male infidelity (hidden polygamy); Widow inheritance &
cleansing; Child marriage; Ritual sex; Postpartum abstinence
· Poor Health
o
Poor
nutrition; concurrent infections; lack of access to medical care
· Poverty
o
Fatalism;
HIV causes poverty; Food security
· Education
o
Education
as luxury; Importance of general education (more than sex ed)
The Particular Vulnerabilities of Women and Girls (Slide 14)
· Biological Vulnerabilities
o
Women
are 2x more likely to contract HIV from men than men from women
· Economic Vulnerabilities
o
Land
ownership; Land grabbing; Boys go to school before girls; Sex for food/fees;
Inability to refuse sex with unfaithful partners
· Legal Vulnerabilities
o
Marital
rape; Divorce laws; Marriage age; Legal Polygyny; Bridewealth; Domestic
violence
· Socio-cultural Vulnerabilities
o
Patriarchal
vulnerabilities (girls are less valued, girls serve men/boys)
· Global Vulnerabilities
o
Feminization
of poverty; Global women’s health; Lack of female controlled prevention methods
(underfunded research)
· Relational Vulnerabilities
o
Lack
of mutuality; Women’s roles confined to home; Unequal power
10. Melissa compares the feminist moves of women in
sub-Saharan Africa to those of Valerie Saiving Goldstein in her early work that
breaks out of a male-centered paradigm sin and self-sacrifice (Slide 15).
Unlike Goldstein’s notion that women are self-sacrificing, Melissa argues that
in sub-Sahara Africa, women are not sacrificing themselves, but rather are
being scarified by society, church, and their families. Therefore, these women
were seeking out flourishing in the midst of oppression. A concern and question
that Melissa continues to struggle with is how to talk about these women not as
victims but as agents who also face obstacles.
11. One of the major conclusions that Melissa draws from her
research is that we need to talk about HIV and AIDS in East Africa in terms of social
ethics, not personal behavior or exclusively in terms of sexual ethics. This
means we need to talk about social systems, poverty, malnutrition, and general
education, as well as women’s empowerment, generally, not only their sexual bodies
(Slide 20).
Another space that needs discussion is marriage in Christian
churches; where churches can make a difference through counseling, etc. (Slide
21). However, such work within the church is almost impossible within the
current patriarchal structures of most churches. Thus, the fundamental nature
of the church is going to have to change in order to respond effectively to HIV
and AIDS. Finally, Melissa used Karen Lebacqz’s work on marriage as loving the
enemy; this might produce a more realistic understanding of marriage, instead
of a safe space, as a space that can be unsafe for women, particularly in light
of the HIV and AIDS pandemic.
Questions and
Discussion
1. One participant asked how Melissa thinks the church
structure in East Africa needs to change to effectively address HIV and AIDS
Regardless of the similarities between churches in
sub-Saharan Africa, there is an importance of focusing on the particular,
therefore Melissa will focus on churches in Mwanza.
In Mwanza there is little difference between/among various Protestant
churches. In Mwanza churches, men sit on one side; women and children sit
together. Women make up about two-thirds of the congregation, but the clergy
are almost completely male, even in denominations that ordain women (ELCA Lutheran,
Anglican, etc.).
Because Melissa is an ordained minister, a woman Anglican
lay-leader wanted Melissa preaching in local churches. During her research in
Mwanza, she would often team preach with this woman as a translator. This created
a reminder for the women in the congregation that women could also preach.
Along with Mercy Oduyoye and other African feminist
theologians, Melissa argues that having the voice of women in the church will
help turn the tide on HIV and AIDS. Another result of the research is a
commitment of the women in the study to be present in churches on World AIDS
Day to give their testimonials. Melissa noted that this both reduces stigma and
changes the perception of Christian marriage as a safe space.
2. Another participant asked: Is polygamy legal? And is
abortion legal?
Melissa explained that there are three kinds of marriage in
Tanzania: Islamic, Traditional, and Christian. While polygamy is legal for
Islamic and Traditional marriages, it is not legal for Christian marriages. She
also noted that in Tanzania “hidden polygamy” is widely practiced in Christian
marriages. While polygamy is problematic, at least in traditional polygamy
there was some accountability whereas in “hidden polygamy” there is no
accountability for multiple partners. One reason for “hidden polygamy” in
Tanzania is because for most ethnic groups, women don’t have sex during pregnancy
or breast feeding which means 2-3 years without sex. This is the period during
where a man often gets a girlfriend, and then the woman discovers she is HIV
positive once she is pregnant with the second child. Therefore, “hidden
polygamy” is often a problem.
Melissa said that abortion is usually not desirable for most
women in Tanzania because children born outside of marriage are not considered illegitimate,
and all children are welcome. The situation in Kenya, however, is different
where abortion is highly restricted, and the problem with “back ally” abortions
persists.
3. There was an inquiry about how churches and schools deal
with sex education for young teens.
The government of Tanzania has done a reasonably good job by
providing public awareness campaigns about HIV and AIDS that have brought it to
the forefront. One major problem, more so in Uganda and Kenya is that you have
groups like the True Love Waits Campaign (abstinence program funded by the Southern
Baptist Church USA) sending millions of dollars for abstinence/faithfulness in
marriage to East Africa. For example in Uganda, the First Lady led a parade of
virgins and rallies for girls. The problem is that these programs do not
recognize agency required for young girls to enforce abstinence or
faithfulness. Abstinence programs do not recognize the prevalence of rape, that
girls trade sex schooling, women trade sex for food, etc.
Sex education literature (primarily religious literature on
the topic) is based on misunderstanding that women can always choose abstinence
and faithfulness and that these are always safe. Melissa will be returning to
Tanzania to work with women to develop a marriage prep curriculum for late
teens to talk about how marriage can be a dangerous place.
4. The moderator asked Melissa to discuss some of the
challenges that she faced as a white feminist from the United States doing work
internationally in Africa, especially around issues of race and intercultural
difference, and some of the ways that she navigated these challenges.
Melissa chose the participatory action research methodology
for her research because the participants are involved in designing the
research. For example, women participants explained to Melissa that bringing in
mementos from wedding day did not apply to them because they were married
informally first. It became a back-and-forth model of research.
Melissa also emphasized the importance of being conscious of
her privileges of being a white feminist from West. She gave examples of this
privilege and named that she was in healthy marriage and that as an ordained
minister, she was asked to preach in Tanzanian churches. However, these spaces
of difference provided space for conversation and comparing social contexts of HIV
and AIDS in the United States and HIV and AIDS in their context. Melissa
explained that she was looking for true solidarity while acknowledging her own privilege.
5. A participant asked Melissa if there were there points in
her work where being feminist came into conflict with the participatory research
method, and how she negotiated that tension.
Melissa answered that one point of difference was hers and
the women’s approaches to scripture where the women took a more conservative
approach than Melissa to passages such as texts about women’s submission to
men, almost as if they were submissive to their husbands, their husbands would
love them as Christ loved the church. As a feminist, Melissa had a difficult
time with that dynamic. When she writes about these instances, she uses a lot
of quotations and differentiates her voice from the women’s in order to be
faithful to her own interpretation as a theologian but not let authorial voice
overpower the voices of the women themselves.
6. The final question was about Melissa’s future work as
well as about the transfer value of what she learned in her research in
Tanzania to the situation of HIV and AIDS in the United States.
Melissa responded that her new work at Loyola focuses on
social justice and community development in Chicago. She is planning to work with
organizations in Chicago that focus on HIV and AIDS in the Africa-American
community.
She explains that her next
project after the book is working with women to develop curricula to be
published and used by them, which is something they requested. She is also
bringing an African American student and HIV and AIDS activist to Tanzania with
her who will be examining parallels between the US and Tanzanian situations in
regard to HIV and AIDS.
WATER thanks Melissa Browning for her work.
Please join us on Wednesday, November 14, 2012, at 1pm (EST)
to talk with Dr. Margaret Miles on the subject of “Life Experience and Academic
Work.” Email the words "Register Me Teleconference" to waterstaff@waterwomensalliance.org by
November 13th in order to receive dial-in information.
