Media Watch

SA woman scientist scoops award

A South African microbicide scientist has scooped up the Department of Science and Technology’s Women in Science award.

Quarraisha Abdool Karim is the brains behind the country’s, and perhaps even the world’s, most successful microbicide trial to date.

Zulu Reed dance: virginity testing, purity (and prevention?)

While the Swazis are 'defending' their Reed dance virgins against “unscrupulous” men who aim to court and compromise them, the Zulu Reed dance is in a different, but related, pickle.

In a The New Age (TNA) article covering the weekend’s Zulu Reed dance, King Goodwill Zwelithini is quoted saying that many of the maidens in attendance were not virgins but had paid to secure fake certificates which said otherwise.

Some might scoff at the fact that the ever controversial virginity testing seems to be becoming a bit of a farce. But the heart of the matter is that virginity test or not, young women are having sex and possibly exposing themselves to HIV because abstinence is the lone arrow in their HIV prevention arsenal.

ART, lies and videotape

It is estimated that over 300, 000 HIV-positive South Africans who could have lived long and healthy lives on ART, died from the effects of uncontrolled HIV infection, during the Mbeki-Manto HIV misinformation era.

The TAC’s campaign which fought and eventually won out against this menace is the subject of ‘TAC-Taking Haart’ a film reviewed in today’s Mail & Guardian by Shaun de Waal.

Daily Sun readers HIV aware

JournAIDS has blogged about the Daily Sun and Sunday Sun tabloids’ ‘HIV friendly’ approach before but Monday’s edition of the Daily Sun showed that readers are responsive to the tabloids’ HIV priority.

Monday’s edition of the Daily Sun featured a letter from a reader, encouraging people to talk about HIV. Content from the same day’s lonely hearts style ‘Sunlove’ section also shows that readers are aware of HIV, are addressing HIV-related stigma and are taking steps to protect themselves from the virus.

Sowetan steps up to the plate

An article in the Sowetan hints at the news media becoming aware of the role they have to play in educating the public on all things HIV.

While the main thrust of the article is to report on the success of Gauteng’s TB programme (current 81 percent cure rate in comparison to 64 percent in 2004), the Sowetan also takes the time to provide some basic information on the condition.