Stories: Women
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Stigma ‘Killing’ South Africans Living with HIV
Tania has to shout to be heard over music blasting out of a brothel in downtown Durban, South Africa, where dozens of sex workers slouch in chairs under the red glow of the bar or lean against walls as they wait for clients. Dressed in a tight top and trousers, the 42-year-old looks younger than her age. Sex work is...
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Ebola’s Shunned Heroes
Esther Kine’s nightmares don’t require much imagination. What she sees when she closes her eyes is what she used to see when they were open: twisted bodies, screaming families, a thousand gaping graves all waiting to be filled—by her. Fatmata Barrie, the first female Ebola burial team worker in Sierra Leone, puts on...
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Bisi Alimi on HIV Criminalization and Intersectionality
Last month I got the opportunity to attend the annual AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa, thanks to an International Reporting Project (IRP) fellowship. Amongst many enlightening sessions was a pre-conference keynote address given by activist Bisi Alimi. Though the narrative has mostly focused on him being the first Nigerian to publicly come out on Nigerian network television, Alimi is...
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Busting HIV Myths in Mozambique, One Text at a Time
When Flavia Meringue gets to work in the morning, her inbox is full of intimate questions from children, some as young as 10, asking questions like, “Should I be having sex yet?” She and 11 other counselors at the Coalizao youth center in Mozambique’s capital Maputo answer hundreds of queries a day from people who use their phones...
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Elton John Fears for the World If Donald Trump Is Elected President
A potential Trump presidency makes Elton John "fear for the world" — at least when it comes to fighting the global HIV crisis. The musician and longtime AIDS activist was in Durban this week for the 21st International AIDS conference. On Wednesday, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for...
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Vaginal Ring Protects from HIV: Study
A vaginal ring infused with an antiretroviral drug can reduce HIV risk by a third when used consistently, a study has found out. The findings, drawn from a phase III clinical trial involving 2359 African women, has particularly brought hope for the vulnerable women and girls, who often may not be in a position to refuse unprotected sex. The findings...
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Charlize Theron Calls Out Racism’s Role in the AIDS Crisis
Charlize Theron has identified the real reason AIDS is still an epidemic, despite all the tools we have to fight the disease. At the opening ceremonies of the 2016 International AIDS Conference, the actress, who founded the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project in 2007, asked the audience why so many people are still infected with HIV each year — and...
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Ebola’s Aftermath in Sierra Leone: ‘This Is How I Know Women Are So Strong’
When Meminatu Sesay began to feel sick one day in September 2014, no one told her sister Fatmata to hold her as she cried, or to wipe the sweat from her flushed face. No one asked Fatmata to clean up after her sister, to bring her water, or to crack jokes to pass the overheated afternoons in her sister’s...
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South Africa Diary: A Safe Place for Those Impacted by HIV
Lindiwe was clearly nervous; she had just started talking about it. She’s 22, and it’s taken a year of therapy and a lot of personal work to get her to the point where she can tell her story. Lindiwe Madoenda, 22, stands in the courtyard at Nkosi's Haven. Her uncle began molesting her when she...
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The UN Celebrates Women and Girls in Science—and Why That’s Important
Think on this: What happens to the typical man with a PhD in science after his wife has their first child? Are his opportunities affected by the status of his home life or gender? Now this: What happens to the typical woman with a PhD in science after she has her first child? Or her second? How do her (mostly...