Research Critique: Stigmatization of Persons with HIV/AIDS in Saudi Arabia by Abdallah Badahdah

Westerners often hear of how oppressed women are in Saudi Arabia. As a result, one might expect these women to be vocal about their challenges living in such a country. However, contrary to the assumption that they are unhappy, they are quick to defend their country, saying that their often overbearing abayas are parts of their tradition. These women say that they still enjoy freedoms and that “[i]t is Western women… who have been manipulated into becoming the toys of men” (Kristof 272). Even so, they still receive unequal treatment from men. Saudi women journalists must stay in their own rooms when they work while men do not. Because of these types of segregated and deleterious practices, Nicholas Kristof argues in his essay “Saudis in Bikinis” that the West is not being paternalistic in trying to advocate for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia; they are trying to free women who have never tasted true liberty. It is

One Saudi woman, Lana, criticizes American women for displaying their bodies in public, debating that women in Saudi Arabia are free rather than the women in Western Civilization. Lana disparaged Western culture by asking “Why should I show my legs and breasts to men? Is that really freedom?'' This becomes a trend for the answers Kristof had gathered that Saudi women believe they are the ones “free from sexual harassment, free from pornography, free from seeing their bodies used to market cars and colas. It is Western women, they say, who have been manipulated into becoming the toys of men,” demonstrating how Saudi women defend their traditions and essentially attack what is foreign to their

Concerning the social context, honor and respect are two significant values that the ‘hijab’ represents. By wearing the hijab, a woman is less likely to be attractive to men and being approached by them, she creates a ‘barrier’ that implements respect between her and another person, by consequent, she preserves her sexual chastity and keeps the family’s honor intact. This is an important detail in the Middle East culture; honor is more a group matter than an individual matter, and in this case, honor’s family is related to women’s sexual abstinence before marriage; in case the honor is lost, it can’t be regained.

Ever since the first cases of what eventually came to be known as AIDS were diagnosed in the early 1980s, people with HIV/AIDS have been stigmatized. Over time, there have been many misconceptions about this disease. Even though there have been many discoveries, and treatments for HIV have improved over time, there are still many people who understand very little about this disease. This lack of understanding, along with fear, misinformation about how the disease is transmitted, and “moral” judgments made about the types of people who contract HIV, all have led to stigmatization of, and discrimination against, people who are living with HIV/AIDS. Understanding the stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS is an important social justice issue because that stigmatization can result in people with HIV being insulted, rejected, gossiped about, excluded from family and social activities, fired, and even jailed. People with HIV are no different from people suffering from other chronic diseases. Instead of being alienated, they have a right to be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity.

Saudi Arabia is commonly known for its strict moral values and customs regarding religion and women. Gender discrimination is a global conflict but it is prevalently seen in Saudi Arabia. Gender discrimination is so poignant in Saudi Arabia because there are strict sets of moral guidelines and ideologies that Saudi Arabian culture implements on its people. Although Saudi Arabian men impose restrictions on women for the sake of upholding their cultural beliefs and family’s honor, there is no doubt that Saudi Arabian culture is male dominated and holds misogynistic views on women, but progress is being made.

A review of the proposed participants of the study will ensure high-risk groups (if any) will be considered as per the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (‘National Statement’; NHMRC, 2007). While some of these high-risk

These conditions may affect the generalizability of the study, therefore qualitative research has considered has low population validity (Carr 1994). Moreover, Al-busaidi in 2008 asserted that statistical representativeness is not taken into consideration as a prime requirement and is not commonly sought. As a result, qualitative data collection is inefficiency in time and

Herek, G., & Capatanio, J. (1999, April 1). AIDS Stigma and Sexual Prejudice. Retrieved March 21, 2015, from http://abs.sagepub.com/content/42/7/1130.short

Patients that are diagnosed with HIV and eventually AIDS often become stigmatized and experience discrimination in Latin America. These roots of stigma and discrimination are founded in societal inequalities embedded with the complex relationship between socioeconomic status, political policies, and cultural values. A stigma can be described as the identification a social group makes about an individual based on the physical deformities, character faults, and family lineages (race, nation, or religion) that are not part of the norms of society (Goffman 2009:4-7). This, in turn, causes the discrimination the individual faces, but more importantly alters their interpretation of themselves within society.

BBC news (2012) states, “Iran's HIV epidemic is concentrated among the country's intravenous drug users and prisoners, but Aids experts warn that the virus will spread more widely if the country does not focus more on high-risk sexual behaviors, like unprotected sex and prostitution.” HIV which turns to AIDS in later years is contracted through sexual, perinatal, or blood exchanges and cannot be cured since it lowers a person’s white cell count that protect against immunity. BBC also points out that, “Unfortunately they don't know how to protect themselves,” from HIV. Therefore, education is a primary key in young women and fighting social stigma associated with the disease. Iran is a conservative county, so discussion about sexual intercourse or drug interventions are limited due to the stigma from religious and private sectors. Setting up HIV health centers designed for women who desire or require screenings, education conferences, and access to condom use will “wake-up” the population and make this prevention a

Currency: this article was received 12th June, 2010 and accepted for publication 29th July, 2010. The research study was current and it cited up to date references in the body of the text (which ranged from 1990-2009). Although, references are best cited within the last 10yrs however, in this study, some of the cited journals which were older than 10yrs include 1990 – 1, 1993 – 1, 1996 -3, 1997 – 1, 1998 -2. A total of 8 references were older than 10yrs out of 46 references cited. The results and findings were also analysed based on other findings in other studies outside of Iran.

Saudi Arabia from its ancestral beginnings has been a land where women always walked in the shadows of men in almost all aspects. The nature of women’s participation emanates from cultural and religious perspectives under Islamic Sharia. In the late nineteenth century, the world witnessed the start of globalization and modernization, where the idea of feminism has begun to gain currency. From then on, the status of women in Islam became one of the most controversial topics questioning both religion and government over fundamental debates. Moreover, issues regarding women’s rights and their role in the development have been equally controversial. The Muslim activists calls themselves “Islamic Feminist” who distinguishes themselves in the Western

Islam, a religion that dates back to over 1600 years ago, is considered to be one of the fastest growing religions in the world. It is one of the few Abrahamic religions alongside Judaism and Christianity. Abrahamic religions have similar foundations, and conservative teachings in regards to sexuality. For instance, premarital sex is prohibited. Chastity and purity are highly valued in the Muslim community. I will be discussing my experiences, perspectives, and beliefs as being a Muslim woman in today’s society and struggling with my perception of sexuality.

- According to UNAIDS (2000), “the fear and taboos associated with these subjects lead to the denial, stigma and discrimination that surround HIV/AIDS, and breed the secrecy that hinder private and community discussion about the issues and behaviour involved.”,

Goffman (1963) defined stigma as any condition, attribute, trait, or behavior that is deeply discrediting and reduces the bearer from a whole and usual person to a tainted and discounted one. . Stigma consist of an attributes that marks people as different leading to devaluation. Stigma is socially constructed (Major & O’Brien, 2005) thus is dependent both on relationship and context. In fact, Goffman (1963) emphasized using the “language of relationships” (p. 3) when considering stigma. A subsequent framework proposed by Corrigan, Markowitz, and Watson (2004) expands the social mechanisms of stigma by describing the structural determinants of stigma that arise from economic, political, and historical sources.