At the Inquiry Conference I went to a session that discussed women's education in Africa. One of the most interesting things I found about this research project was the fact that many did not agree with female education because they believed that it made the females "rebellious". This comment made me wonder why they would think this way. Is it due to the fact that the women are now learning other things and no longer want to stay at home and learn how to be a housewife? Or is it that what is being taught is of a more western nature and therefore when the women put into practice what they learn it is considered "rebellious"? Or is it a different reason entirely?
In many of the readings that I have done for my project the lack of female education has always been considered a major issue. When women are more educated, not only do they do better economically in life, but they also help thier family members. Also, when discussing HIV, many women are not educated on how HIV is spread; and as a result are more at risk to become infected. Since many women are dependent on their husbands (due to lack of economic freedom, education, etc. etc. ) this poses a serious problem when taking into consideration that many times it is the husband's actions of being unfaithful that cause the woman to get HIV.
But even though I think that women's education is important and necessary, I wonder how the instruction of HIV prevention will be viewed by others. Will these women now become "rebellious" becuase they want their husbands to be tested for HIV, or becuase they want to wear protection so that they are not at such a high risk for HIV infection? Coming from a western public health standpoint, educating a woman so that she will do this is essentially the goal; however, according to other cultures, this type of education is undesireable. I think that this issue is more than just a cultural one, I think that it is deeper. Not educating a woman to protect herself so that she will be more submissive and "obedient" is wrong, no matter what the culture.
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