The Female Face of AIDS: Crisis in Malawi

In The Female Face of AIDS, four law professors and eight students representing Fordham University's Leitner Center for International Law and Justice shed light on the human rights issue of the mistreatment of women with HIV/AIDS in Malawi, Africa. During their fact-finding mission, members of the group speak with over a hundred HIV+ women, men, and children, as well as a few experts. Aside from significant health concerns and reduced life expectancies, the women must also contend with stigma and discrimination, ranging from domestic abuse to being ostracized and losing property. Malawi men, who may have several wives or girlfriends, tend to avoid protection, which they see as an admission of infection, rather than as a preventative measure. Here, a vegetable-grower named Eliza laments that her husband left her and their three children after he found out she was HIV+—even though she remained faithful (she doesn't know if he was tested). As Daphne, a schoolteacher who founded Coalition of Women Living with HIV, points out, “Women's lack of economic power makes them more vulnerable.” To which U.N. Resident Coordinator Michael Keating adds a sad note: “There are something like a million orphans in this country.” On the positive side, however, thanks to greater awareness, many of the women in this film are receiving the medical attention they need. DVD extras include a photo gallery and a downloadable lesson plan and guidebook. A solid primer on an important topic, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)