The women in this study share a number of
characteristics with HIV-positive women in other parts
of the world. The interlinked realities of female
reproductive biology and socially constructed gender
relations provide a basic framework within which
individual narratives are played out in different settings.
But these are in constant interaction with global trends
in inequality, poverty and power. Hence, these women’s
lives are also shaped in very particular ways by their
status as migrants from some of the poorest countries in
the world to one of the richest.
The women in this group are not homogeneous. As we
have seen, they show considerable diversity in their
circumstances and in their coping strategies. But they
have one important thing in common. Though they were
born in Africa, they currently have access to high
standards of medical care which enhance both the length
and the quality of their lives. But most still identify very
strongly with their ‘home’communities and many feel
‘trapped’by the very services that keep them alive.
Hence they are working hard to survive HIV but not
necessarily in circumstances of their own choosing. This
paradoxical reality is likely to become increasingly
common in future years if female migration to the
developed countries continues to rise and global
inequalities in access to HIV/AIDS treatment are not
resolved.