ZAMBIA: Rights abuses decried amid AIDS impact

Zambia President Levy Mwanawasa has called for an end to retrogressive practices like sexual cleansing, especially in light of the advent of HIV/AIDS.

Commemorating International Women's Day in the capital, Lusaka, on Wednesday, the head of state said traditional leaders were in an ideal position to discourage the practice.

Mwanawasa also stressed that other abuses against women and children needed to be addressed if Zambia was to raise the status of women.

"These practices must be discouraged ... it is therefore the duty of every Zambian to behave in a manner that does not expose them and other people to the danger of HIV/AIDS," a local newspaper, The Times of Zambia, quoted Mwanawasa as saying.

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