The Politics of AIDS and Condoms for Stable Heterosexual Relations in Africa: Recent Evidence from the Local Print Media

Although there has been considerable attention to increasing mortality rates and economic problems in areas of Africa hardest hit by AIDS, in this paper I examine the epidemic's impact on stable heterosexual relations. By identifying salient cultural themes pertaining to marriage and fertility, I examine people's emerging responses to policy injunctions to use condoms and limit their sexual partners. I draw policy conclusions for the fate of children whose mothers die from AIDS, threats to female education in the wake of the AIDS epidemic and the likelihood of condom acceptance.