Gender equality and HIV and AIDS in Uganda

HIV and AIDS widen existing inequalities of access to education for boys and girls. Research in Luweero district in central Uganda shows the negative impact of HIV and AIDS on primary school teachers and students in rural areas. Particular efforts are required to ensure that teachers can fulfil their potential to promote gender equality in schools.

The effect of HIV and AIDS on pupils

The study (from 2004 to 2005) found that children who have lost both parents through HIV and AIDS are either fostered by extended family or live in child-headed households. Earning a living is extremely difficult and such households are forced to reduce their spending on 'non-essential' items such as education. Children often arrive at school late or are absent and do not have the necessary learning materials. They rarely have lunch or snacks. All of this undermines their ability to learn effectively.

The impact of HIV and AIDS on rural livelihoods also reinforces discrimination against girls. AIDS increases household tasks but decreases labour and income through illness and death; children fill these gaps. Girls are usually more affected than boys who can earn cash for lunch and other school needs through petty trade or by working after school.

Girls are usually allocated more household tasks before and after school including working in the garden, fetching water, cleaning and taking care of ill family members and smaller children — including fostered orphans. Taking care of a bed-ridden AIDS patient is time-consuming and labour-intensive. Boys tend to have fewer household tasks, so find it easier to turn up to school on time.

How do teachers cope?

Teachers also face problems as community members, for example fostering orphans and having ill people in their homes. Some have HIV or AIDS themselves. Their salaries do not cover their needs, especially for additional healthcare and medication costs. As girls are particularly affected by HIV and AIDS, so are women teachers. Teachers are often absent due to their problems. Their motivation is often low, while their personal and professional challenges are complex.

Teachers are required to treat boys and girls equally. They cannot take into account the impact of HIV and AIDS on pupils in their classroom management strategies. They expect all children to turn up on time, for example, with all the necessary supplies, regardless of their circumstances.

The main recommendation from the study is to strengthen teachers' abilities to promote gender equality, particularly in the context of HIV and AIDS. Education authorities, school administrators, parents and teachers should be encouraged to work together to create supportive environments for students and teachers:

• Local education authorities should organise in-service workshops for teachers focusing on the impact of HIV and AIDS on boys and girls' learning and addressing the personal and professional challenges teachers face.
• The Ministry of Education should ensure that pre-service teacher education includes working with orphans and vulnerable children and supporting gendered needs.
• School authorities should engage parents, teachers and students in the development of school regulations which are flexible to respond to the diverse needs of affected students.
• Local education authorities should develop a school mentoring programme to support teachers in developing gendered HIV and AIDS-responsive teaching and classroom management strategies.

Doris Muhwezi Kakuru
Makerere University, Department of Sociology, PO Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
T +256 772456445
dkakuru@ss.mak.ac.ug

See also

The Combat for Gender Equality in Education: Rural Livelihood Pathways in the Context of HIV/AID, Wageningen, by Doris M. Kakuru, 2006
http://library.wur.nl/wda/dissertations/dis4040.pdf

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