Sex Ed 101

"Law and justice are not always the same." - Gloria Steinem

Thursday a group of us from Projet Jeune and three Canadian volunteers from ASDAP went to visit a garage to do a sex ed session, hand out condoms, and discuss any issues.

The first visit went really well. We returned to the junkyard/garage I had visited before and mechanics sat on the backs of cars, benches and restrung plastic chairs while we took over a bench. We discussed the importance of using condoms, using them only once (forget the reuse, recycle thing here) and one mechanic demonstrated for the rest how to put one on using a pipe from the yard. Some other questions were asked and for the most part the visit was uneventful. The session was conducted in Bambera and French so that all the mechanics could understand. Often times someone would translate something into English for me.

One of the Canadian volunteers, of Lebanese descent, spoke nearly fluent Bambera. She said this was her fourth time in Mali and she was allowed to do some of the translating and introductions. She also pulled the skirt of another volunteer to her knees where her bag which was in her lap had dragged it up to expose her thigh.

The second garage was a mess of cultural politics and old ways colliding with the new. A taxi driver who happened to be getting his car fixed and sat down for the session exclaimed that he didn't have time to use condoms. That they took too long. Someone said they only took 5 seconds, perhaps we should demonstrate. He said why should he bother when he was done in 3. Then he went on to say that with prostitutes you pay for the time so it is better to take less time. Nothing we said fazed this man. He seemed not just clueless but nonchalant that he was regularly engaging in unprotected sex with one of the populations where AIDS is most concentrated here. The other four populations are bus drivers, bus ticket salesmen, maids, and walking vendors. Further he is married with kids. He said if he gets sick he'll take some vitamins, get a long night's sleep and be all better in the morning. Then he said he had to go. We bade him to reflect on what we had discussed. Some wished him a good day. I was thinking more Good Luck. This kind of mindset gives us great insight as to the barriers that are faced in educating the population about the severity of the disease.

After he left an older man piped up that the disease was all the fault of women. It was his understanding that unfaithful women caused all the problems with regards to disease. He said he had 3 wives and each had her own home and he could not be certain what they were doing when he was not with them. He also went on to mention that he had girlfriends too. One of the volunteers clarified, so it's unfaithful women and not unfaithful men who are the problem? He said yes. It is tolerated from men but inexcusable from women. We must find a way to control unfaithful women. It is a good thing that his beliefs represent the older way of thinking but it's a wonder how long that way of thinking will linger and continue to enable wives to be infected as a result of their husband's indiscretions and vice versa. When the cultural norms lead to death and destruction, they must change.