Gender Representation in the HIV/AIDS Discourse in Public and Cultural and Traditional Spaces in Eswatini in Historical Perspective

This paper seeks to explore the gendered representation of HIV/AIDS constructed in public and cultural and traditional spaces in Eswatini from
the 1980s and the 2000s. In this paper public spaces refers to the media and Government/NGO spheres of operation in containing HIV/AIDS. The
cultural and traditional spacesreferto spheres dominated by cultural method of containing the spread of HIV/AIDS. It was revealed that the focus of the
HIV/AIDS sensitisation campaigns generally projected women as the main vector of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in official public and traditional spaces
which was a slanted representation of reality. This paper argues that the representation of women as the main clients of HIV/AIDS in both public and
cultural and traditional spaces obfuscate the formulation of concrete and effective HIV/AIDS containment policy. The methodology for writing this
paper includes the use of primary documentary sources, interviews, Focus Group Discussions and participant observation.
Keywords: Gender, HIV/AIDS, Public Spaces, Cultural and Traditional Spaces