Women Born In The 1930s

"The HIV epidemic in Ghana is characterized as a mix of a low-level generalized epidemic with significant contributions from transmission among female sex workers (FSW) and their clients. This study seeks to identify and describe key characteristics and sexual behaviors of FSW and estimate the prevalence of HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and hepatitis B virus (HBV) among FSW in Ghana. Method A total of 7,000 FSW were recruited for the study using Time Location Sampling (TLS) approach with 5,990 (85.6%) participants completing both biological and the behavioral aspects of the study. A structured questionnaire was administered to respondents to assess several factors, such as background characteristics, sexual risk behaviors, condom usage, HIV/AIDS knowledge, opinions, and attitudes. Trained staff conducted face-to-face interviews using mobile data collection software (REDCap) after provision of specimens for HIV and STI testing. Descriptive statistics such as medians, ranges, charts, and percentages are performed and presented. Also included, are bivariate analyses to establish relationships between FSW type and other relevant characteristics of the study. Results Among the 7,000 (100%) FSW sampled from all regions, 6,773 took part in the behavioral and 6,217 the biological. There were 783 (11.2%) respondents who took part only in the behavioral and 227 (3.2%) only in the biological. Most were young, with a median age of 26 years, majority had never been married or were widowed/divorced and a quarter had no education or had only primary education. Majority (74.8%) of FSW first sold sex at age 25 years or less with a median age of 20 years. Most (84.8%) of the FSW indicated that they entered sex work for money, either for self or family and had an average of eleven (11) sexual partners per week. More than half (55.2%) of the FSW were new entrants who had been in sex work for less than 5 years before the study. Consistent condom use with paying clients was generally unsatisfactory (71%), and was however, very low (24%) with their intimate partners or boyfriends. Only about half (54.6%) of FSW have been exposed to HIV prevention services in the last three months preceding the survey, and this varies across regions. Overall, comprehensive knowledge about HIV and AIDS was low. Only 35% of FSW had comprehensive knowledge. HIV prevalence was 4.6% and was higher among seaters (brothel-based) and older FSW who had been sex work for a longer period. The HIV prevalence from the previous bio-behavioral survey (BBS) in 2015 and 2011 were estimated to be 6.9 and 11.1%, respectively. Conclusion Compared to the results from the previous studies, the findings give an indication that Ghana is making significant progress in reducing the burden of HIV among FSW in the country. However, risky behaviors such as low consistent condom use, low coverage of HIV services across the regions, and low comprehensive knowledge could reverse the gains made so far. Immediate actions should be taken to expand coverage of HIV services to all locations. Efforts must be made to reach out to the new entrants while also addressing strongly held myths and misconceptions about HIV"

"To delineate the population attributable fraction (PAF) of transactional sex in prevalent cases of HIV infection in the male adult population of Accra, Ghana. Cross-sectional study of clients who visited a sex worker (SW), of boyfriends of SW and of male personnel in prostitution venues. A questionnaire was administered and urine obtained for detection of anti-HIV antibodies. The PAF of prevalent HIV acquired from SW was calculated using a combination of data from this survey of clients, from on-going SW surveys, the national HIV surveillance system and the national census. HIV prevalence was 4.9% (8/162) among clients of mobile SW, 15.8% (53/335) among clients of home-based SW, 17.5% (10/57) among personnel and 32.1% (9/28) among boyfriends. A condom was used in 90% of intercourses, according to clients. Non-use of a condom was clustered in selected locations and independently associated with older age of client, frequency of intercourse with SW in the last year and current urethritis. Among the male population of Accra aged 15-59 years, 84% of prevalent cases of HIV were attributable to transactional sex. A sensitivity analysis showed that under various assumptions PAF varied between 47% and 100%. In Accra, approximately four-fifths of prevalent cases of HIV in adult males were acquired from SW. Comprehensive interventions providing education, condoms and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases for SW and their clients should be approached as other public health priorities and provided in all cities, large and small, of West Africa."

"We need to change it [constitution] because the constitution with the indemnity clauses covered people who have looted this country"

"I'm saying that we need to change the indemnity clause in the 1992 Constitution,how can you legalize coup?."

"Nowadays when you go to schools you ask them [school children] even about our own history they don't know about it and yet they are learning history about their countries."

"If we don't change the constitution you can never put anybody before court for the pillage that is why I'm saying we can't stop corruption because people are covered with indemnity clause in our constitution."

"We are so blessed and we should have been exporting a lot of farm products instead of importing ,we can produce enough food if we put our minds on it."

"I joined the commercial bank for a while and straight to the parliament,so I was 23 years when I became a parliament"

"The Ghana today there is so much confusion.What I would say is unless we change our 1992 constitution because this constitution has Soo many flaws, in this constitution and This constitution was imposed on the people of Ghana a long period of terror by PNDC and NDC rule. So it is not a constitution for the people ,I would call it JJRolins constitution."

"That constitution when it was first drafted that is 1992 it was a legalized clause"

"We shouldn't legalize coup if we are talking about civilian government,we need to change this present constitution which people have taken advantage and taken all the state enterprises ,the state footwears ,the state decision cooperation,we used to have GNDC chain of stores which is where we get made in Ghana goods ."

"Independence [for Ghana] means we are a new state not under somebody ,you are independent,you can make your own decisions,you don't have to let someone decide for you."

"Don’t Just Hop On Your Wives For Sex; Romance Them First"

"Take the act of foreplay serious during sexual encounters with their partners."

"He was happy to see Eve brought to him and said she is the bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh as they both entangled in romance,she added. Romance she observed, began right in the Garden of Eden and must not be overlooked."

"The absence of romance could jeopardize their marriages."

"Romance your wives thoroughly before the substantive sexual act of penetration, do not just hop on them."

"Adam and Eve began to play romance when the latter was created out of the former's ribs and brought to him."

"Religious chauvinism presupposes a monopoly of truth and of God and so undercuts the roots of our common humanity in a way that prevents our acting humanely toward the other."

"Sharing spirituality across religious boundaries will make us neighbours who honour each other's specificities while at the same time seeking mutual caring and sharing and learning together."

"The council is Egypt’s government mechanism for improving the condition of Egyptian women and defending their rights, regardless of political affiliation. We emphasize that these martyrs are in the hearts of all Egyptians, and they will not have shed their blood in vain. We will go to any length to protect their rights from the terrorists who condone killing innocent people to accomplish their goals. The council has continually provided them with a range of financial assistance to help them establish small, income-generating projects."

"We appreciate the position of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and the positions of all of the Gulf States that have stood beside Egypt through its current crisis."

"The council announced its national vision on the country’s constitution, but that vision has been ignored and rejected. Therefore the council announced its rejection of the draft constitution based on human rights and freedom concerns, particularly regarding those of women and children in the family."

"The council will also focus on the issue of illiteracy, because we cannot promote the development and advancement of women while facing a 40 percent illiteracy rate in Egypt. We will also reconsider the services provided to women in regards to healthcare. Finally, we will draw attention to marginalized groups in the community, such as women in slums, older women and disabled women."

"The council has fought fiercely to prevent the adoption of the old constitution, and has made a strong effort to uphold perhaps one of the most important promises: to oppose the formation of a constitution that includes only one point of view. Because of that, the council nominated several women to participate in the formation of the constitution, but not to remove anything from it."

"When negotiations between the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic and the French government began, I was imprisoned in Pau, in the southern region of France. I had been there for almost six years, cut off from the events of the war. During this time in prison, we remained committed to demanding our rights, including the right to be informed. As prisoners, we fought for access to newspapers, staging several hunger strikes, some lasting quite long. By late 1961, we had finally won the right to receive newspapers—though they were, of course, French publications. This meant that when the negotiations started, we were kept informed through the French press."

"It is essential that the Palestinians avoid internal struggles for power after the end of the war. They must put aside personal ambitions and form a coalition without ulterior political motives. They must build a Palestine where women and men live together with the aim of sustaining a prosperous country that unites all of its children—no matter their political beliefs."

"Women are complete citizens, with the same duties and rights as men, including the same obligation to contribute to our development."

"In the past, rebellions had been regionally circumscribed. Across the country’ was massive, It helped convince the Algerian people that at long last their moment had arrived, and the struggle for independence was engaged."

"An ostrich took a mate for life. It was their nature. Why try and mess up nature? Was the new prosperity not enough for them? …Where would it end?"

"What is it that is troubling you? You’re young, but your eyes are old."

"God forgives many things, but God never forgives us the wrong we do to a child."

"Get your hands to work, Selling, none of us can understand it."

"To hear, after nine years, that they had found a child that might be yours, was not news that you could take lightly. And if it was the child they had found, only the Lord in Heaven could know how he had got over the mountain to the Long Kloof."

"(AWS, 1987; Page 75)"

"But memories got left behind while you kept walking on; every time you had to retrace your steps further to return to your memories, and sometimes it was better not to turn back at all."

"Perfect beauty is to be found only in woman,’ she said, ‘so yield to me and I shall let you taste undreamed of happiness…’"

"unhappiness was something you got used to or something that passed."

"...What was there to wish for... a wish asked for the unattainable. The impossible."

"An idea would obtrude itself upon me sometimes: did Cleopatra, the very legend of love, have sexual intercourse with her serpent after having given up sleeping with men, having wearied of amorous adventures with them so that her sated instincts were no longer moved other than by the excitement of fear, her senses no longer aroused other than by bites from a snake? And the last of her lovers had been a viper that had destroyed her."

"“Only blood,” he said, “washes dishonor clean.”"

"“Father, you gave me a real beating tonight.”"

"Daughter, I’m not crying now because I’m fed up or regret that the Lord created me a woman. No, it’s not that. It’s just that I’m sad about my life and my youth that have come and gone without my knowing how to live them really and truly as a woman."

"The fact is there’s no joy for a girl in growing up, it’s just one disaster after another till you end up an old woman who’s good for nothing and who’s real lucky if she finds someone to feel sorry for her."

"She returned to the living room and poured out the coffee for herself. She was surprised at how calm she was."

"(AWS, 1987; Page 8)"

"Isn’t it better, when he returns, for your father to find himself with a legitimate son [rather] than an illegitimate grandson?"

"There was no doubt but that the secret of my passion for her, my preoccupation with her, was due to the excitement that had aroused, through intense fear, desire within myself; an excitement that was sufficiently strong to drive the blood hotly through my veins whenever the memory of her came to me, thrusting the blood in bursts that made my heart beat widly, my limbs limp."

"(AWS, 1987; Page 71)"

"The prophets in Hebrew Scripture and Jesus in the Gospels are figures in conflict with the religious establishment. They denounce the use of religion to sacralize unjust privilege and to ignore the needs of the people. Prophetic faith announces a God who is active in history, to overturn an unjust social order and to transform the world into a new social order where there will be no more war, no more injustice, where justice between people and harmony with nature has been restored and all creation will be in communion with God."