Stories about care : women in a historically disadvantaged community infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Black women in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple oppression: (a) the social engineering policies synonymous with apartheid have marginalised women economically and socially; (b) patriarchy, embedded in cultural and religious discourses, has rendered women voiceless and powerless and (c) HIV/AIDS targets the most vulnerable: women and children. The authors describe a research experience in Atteridgeville, a historically disadvantaged community in South Africa, with a family of women infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS, about their experiences of care and or the lack thereof. A narrative approach offers useful ideas to facilitate a process in which African women in historically challenged communities can speak out about their experiences of care and or the lack of care.