Menstrual Rite of Passage: Implications for HIV Prevention

Indigenous knowledge ingrained in rites of passage associated with birth, puberty, marriage, and death is often blamed for exacerbating HIV and AIDS prevalence rates in African societies. Against this backdrop, this study utilises the hermeneutic phenomenology of religion to explore the potential role of the Shona-Manyika menstrual rite of passage in complementing or impeding modern biomedical HIV prevention strategies. Given that there is limited research on the menstrual rite of passage among the Shona dialects, the Manyika included, data were qualitatively gathered through purposively selected individual interviews with key participants and focus group discussions in the Shona-Manyika Gandanzara community. The study finds that the menstrual rite of passage or some of its aspects have manifest and latent functions that can promote or impede the use of modern biomedical HIV prevention strategies such as condom use, abstinence, faithfulness, and delayed coital debut. Thus, the role of the menstrual rite of passage as a cultural approach in mitigating HIV transmission is ambivalent. This implies that the cultural approach to HIV prevention can be an important mitigatory strategy if interventionists can capitalise on aspects of rituals that are useful.