ETHIOPIA: Disregard of women's rights fuels AIDS

Ethiopia's government on Wednesday said the country's "pathetic" attitude towards women’s rights was fuelling the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The Ministry of Information said in a statement that women were left vulnerable to HIV/AIDS by social and cultural factors like polygamy and sexual violence.

It added that exclusion from the labour market also forced women and young girls into prostitution.

"The pathetic level for implementation of human and democratic rights of women in our constitution contributes to their vulnerability against HIV/AIDS," the ministry said.

Some 58 percent of an estimated three million Ethiopians living with HIV/AIDS are women.

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