AIDS Leading Cause of Death and Disease for Women 15-44

Beyond the Veil| In its first ever study of women’s health, the World Health Organization said on Monday that AIDS is the leading cause of death and disease among women, ages 15 to 44.

Unsafe sex is the leading risk factor in developing countries for these women of childbearing age, with others including lack of access to contraceptives and iron deficiency, the WHO said. A of C intends to better understand the percentage of married women who have no access to condoms vs. single women.

Religious authorities focus on premarital sex and cases of adultery in men, as the primary sources of AIDS cases.  A married woman is also not permitted to use condoms in the case of the Catholic church. With Islam, a preliminary inquiry indicates that while a woman is encouraged to have as many children as possible, she is permitted to use birth control pills (and presumably condoms) is she is ill or physically unfit to bear another pregnancy and if her husband agrees.

In practice, many Muslims in Africa say that condoms are not allowed by the Koran and therefore a married woman has no safety to her own health if her husband is infected with the AIDS virus. A