Practice ofsumo kodhiamong the Luo and implications for HIV transmission in western Kenya

Abstract

This paper discusses the practice of sumo kodhi among the Luo ethnic group and its implications for spread of HIV in western Kenya. Sumo kodhi is a practice in which a woman arranges to have sex with a man other than her legitimate sexual partner (husband or levir/inheritor) to give birth to children with specific qualities she wants in them. Data were drawn from a 16-month ethnographic study on reproductive aspirations of women living with HIV/AIDS (WLWHA). The study found that WLWHA engaged in sumo kodhi as they believe they will get gender balanced, beautiful, and academically talented and healthy children who are free from HIV. The WLWHA targeted agnates of their husbands living in distant villages, former boyfriends (before marriage) and other men who were new in the area such as civil servants, employees in local institutions and businessmen who would not suspect their HIV status. These WLWHA kept their HIV status secret and exposed the targeted men to the risk of being infected with HIV. It can be deduced that having knowledge of HIV status does not always translate into taking action towards protecting sexual partner(s). Moreover, continued childbearing is not always as a result of unmet contraceptives needs. It is apparent from this study that social factors sometimes overrule health considerations. The study recommends that further research be conducted among other ethnic groups to gauge whether they also have a practice similar to sumo kodhi. Women living with HIV/AIDS should be involved in HIV/AIDS control and prevention strategies. There is also need for an intervention that would ensure that WLWHA meet their reproductive aspirations without putting their sexual partners at risk of contracting HIV.

“I was forced into it”: The continued violation of widows from the Luo community of Kenya through sexual cleansing rituals

“…Common features of systems of masculine hegemony, or patriarch, are the social construction of men as superior to women, as women's providers and protectors, responsible for ensuring their welfare and guarding their sexuality, and of intimate partner violence as an aspect of masculinity and a legitimate means for men to control and instruct women ( 28 ). Male children are highly prized and a family without a male child holds low status in community ( 20 ). For men in patrilineal societies, the primary practices associated with the attainment of manhood and adulthood were provision of land to a wife or wives for subsistence farming, establishing a household, and siring children, in addition to gaining authority over one or more women through bride wealth-based marriage ( 29 ).…”

“…The ritual has been commercialized to give monetary incentives due to the HIV epidemic in Western Kenya, and this has created a demand for hired cleansers ( 9 ). Available research shows that the disproportionate burden of HIV among women within the Luo community is strongly associated to sexual cleansing ( 4 , 9 , 11 , 12 , 20 ). An HIV-positive hired cleanser engages in concurrent sexual partnerships, transmitting HIV to other widows in the community ( 11 , 12 ).…”