Beatrice Were: passionate Ugandan HIV/AIDS activist

Abstract

Beatrice Were is a difficult woman to get hold of. As a world renowned HIV/AIDS activist a mother of three daughters and head of ActionAids HIV programme in Uganda it is no wonder she is always in demand. Were is best known for breaking the silence around HIV/AIDS by publicly declaring her own HIV-positive status. She has actively campaigned for the recognition and defence of womens rights and has regularly put her own safety on the line in speaking out against the Ugandan government. Weres story is typical of the way most African women contract HIV. In Africa 60% of new infections are in women many of whom are married. Were fell prey to the virus after the birth of her first child. Although she was a virgin when she married and remained faithful she contracted the virus from her husband and discovered she was HIV positive several months after he died of AIDS. At the age of 24 years widowed with two young daughters Were was shrouded by a cloud of bitterness and resentment that took many years to dispel. It was the toughest few years of my life she said. Fortunately her university education and connections enabled her to win the battles with her in-laws to keep her property and her children and not be forced into marriage with her brother-in-law-a common practice for African widows. She decided to use her struggle to mobilise other women to ensure their rights would not be similarly abused. In 1993 Were co-founded the National Community of Women Living with HIV/ AIDS in Uganda (NACWOLA) a grassroots organisation that provides services to more than 40 000 women in 20 Ugandan districts. Through NACWOLA Were was able to empower women living with HIV and work with them to fight AIDS denialism fear isolation and stigma. (excerpt)