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Mohammad Khairul Alam
Bangladesh has a population
of nearly 144,319,628(July 2005 est.), approximately 25,000 of whom are living
with HIV/AIDS, although government confirmed 7,500 people are living with
HIV/AIDS in
Bangladesh. The
virus has spread differently in different regions of the country. In the
northeastern regions, for example, heterosexual transmission is the norm; in the
country’s central-western and capital region, HIV has spread mainly through
injection/ intravenous drug use.
The Bangladesh consist most
traditional background that gender discrimination is common feature, Less jobs
opportunity, economics dependency and abuse of women's rights and illicit
trafficking of girls and women are major reasons leading to increasing
discrimination against women. Women are disproportionately infected with
HIV/AIDS for biological, social and economic reasons. They are sexually mature
and active at younger age. In some of the poor countries in world, girls, aged
15 to 19, are infected at rates as much as seven times higher than boys; in some
regions, girls are infected at twice the rate. The disproportionate impact is
related to widespread sexual abuse and gender discrimination against girls,
making it extremely difficult for them to protect themselves. Females are also
biologically more vulnerable to HIV/STIs transmission because of the immaturity
of their reproductive tracts and the much higher rates of HIV/AIDS transmission
from males to females.
AIDS is usually different
from most other diseases because it is infected people in the most productive
age groups. The effects will vary according to the severity of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic and the structure of the national economies. It has the potential to
create cruel economic and health impacts in many countries. The economic effects
of AIDS will be felt first by individuals and their families, then ripple
outwards to the businesses and the economy system.
The face of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic is changing rapidly across the Asian countries. The number of people
living with HIV/AIDS is growing across the region. Most of the people living
with HIV/AIDS in the region are under 30 years of age, and an increasing number
of them are women. Adolescent Sexuality makes deeper the problem of HIV in the
world. About 50% population having their first sexual experience before the age
of 16, according to The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles,
which interviewed nearly 19,000 men and women in 1990-91. The most comprehensive
sex research ever conducted in Britain, it found that
among the younger generation of 16 to 24 year olds, the average age of first
sexual experience (not necessarily intercourse) is 13 for men and 14 for women.
The Rainbow Nari O Shishu
Kallyan Foundation & L.R.B Foundation jointly survey focuses on the attitude,
behavior and practice of commercial & non- commercial / casual sex workers in
Bangladesh, this study did point out that almost 16% of sex workers enter the
profession before the age of 18 years, and 30% enter between 18 to 24 years of
age. Approximately 10% of prostitutes belong to the scheduled castes minority
people.
It is very difficult to
detect of AIDS impact in every nation. Most studies have found that estimates of
the economic impacts are sensitive to assumptions about how AIDS affects savings
and investment rates and whether AIDS affects the best-educated employees more
than others. Some studies have been able to incorporate the impacts at the
household, business and firm level in economic projections. Several researchers
believe that the impacts may be small, particularly if there is a plentiful
supply of excess labor and worker benefits are small.
Women in
Bangladesh are largely getting sexual experience through marriage and for the
most part, premarital sexual contact is mostly confined to their future husband
or lovers. Nowadays, sexual behaviour among women in Bangladesh is changing.
Adolescent girls may not remain in the traditional sexual confinement of the
previous generations and casual sex among them is on the rise. This may
encourage AIDS to acquire alarming proportions in Bangladesh.
tag: female, male,
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women, consensual, premarital, exmarital, sexuality, empowerment, gender,
education, prevention, dhaka, india, pakistan, bangladesh, adolescent, teen,
teenage, truck drivers. trafficking, epidemic, street girls, knowledge, young
people, discrimination, nonconsensual, coerced sex, sexual partners, safe sex,
sexually transmitted diseases, stds, stis, sexual abuse, forced sex, risky
sexual behaviour, business, multi partner sex, heterosexual, injection,
intravenous drugs users,
prostitution,
men who have sex with men, msm, harassment, sugar daddies, relationships,
condom, polygamy, homosexuality, extra marital, relations, truckers, migrant
workers, gay, hijras, hermaphrodites, professional blood donors, heroin smokers,
hotel, brothel, street based commercial sex workers, casual sex workers, so
called sex workers, violence, exploitation, Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan
Foundation, Mohammad Khairul Alam
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