Men Are Beasts

The girl child in Africa has been conditioned to believe that men are beasts. They are to be avoided and never to be trusted. This nurturing becomes more critical in the face of HIV/AIDS where many young girls are taken for a ride by men. School children are warned against men, including their male classmates. This causes anxiety within the class and family. Jamaawa is terrified by the thought of catching HIV/AIDS from her sister Night with whom she shares a bed at home. She is also afraid of catching HIV/AIDS from Ikopit with whom she shares a desk at school. The attempted rape on her by a village renown rapist while she is going to the shops to buy sugar in the evening after school worsens her situation of mistrust for men and women. Who is the beast then? That is the riddle that this story pauses. while we commit to build bridges to end suffering due to HIV/AIDS, gender relations must be high on every agenda. Gender Based Violence accelerates the epidemic. In as innocent a situation as the classroom, girls and boys get side tracked and risk infection. Jamaawa has shown the way together with her sister Night and mother. The bleak picture presented by superstitions has been brought to light. Neither men nor women are the cause of HIV/AIDS infection.