FRELST OG REDDET FRA AIDS?: Unge pigers håndtering af risikoen for hiv i det sydvestlige Uganda

Resumé

Kristina Wimberley: Saved from AIDS?

The Manoeuvres of Adolescent Giris in

Relation to the Risk of HIV in Southwestern

Uganda

This articles discusses the representation of

adolescent giris in the literature on AIDS and

in AIDS interventions. In these contexts an

image is created of adolescent giris as

passive victims of a static inequality in

societies pervaded by patriarchy, and as

driven by economic want. On the basis of

fieldwork material from Ankole, southwestern

Uganda, the articles discusses the

meaning of “being saved” for adolescent

giris in relation to the risk of HIV. For the

giris concemed, “being saved” is characterized

by conversion to a new lifestyle in

which they are virtuous, honest, kind, and

above all: avoid and reject men. However, at

some point even saved giris enter into

relationships with men. In this situation, the

giris may find it advantageous to continue to

be “really saved” in certain contexts. From

the analysis put forward here it emerges that

“being saved” as a form of discourse and

action enables giris to create a room for

manoeuvre that empowers them to tackle the

dangers they face - including HIV/AIDS.

This agency emerges in the interplay of, on

the one hand the constraining and enabling

effects of the various life worlds of giris in

Ankole, and on the other hand the way in

which gendered identities and relationships

are negotiated in everyday life between giris

and men, as well as among the giris

themselves. It is concluded that the standard

analysis of giris’ vulnerability in relation to

the risk of HIV/AIDS could benefit from an

actor-oriented approach that encompasses

the interplay between structure and process.

An analysis of this kind may reveal the

agency of giris, and not exclusively in relation

to economic want. This focus on agency

could be a point of departure for more

effective HIV/AIDS interventions.