Traci Grigg’s essay, Let’s talk—Federal funding used to oppose U.S. policy, is an enlightening piece, showcasing how two ideologies—those of the US government and Planned Parenthood—can strive toward a positive outcome for AIDS sufferers in Africa, even when their formulae for getting there are divergent. The government ABC program wants abstinence while Planned Parenthood wants to promote the use of condoms.

The culture in many African countries would not allow women to abstain from sex and it would even be more difficult to persuade a husband or male partner to wear a condom. The female condom might work. Many girls are given to older men and while they might want to be protected or even abstain from intercourse their voices are never heard.

While we are funding groups like Planned Parenthood it seems the money might be better spent on educating against misogynist male cultural ideologies where the subordination of women to men should be unthinkable. Until women can speak for themselves and run their own lives they and their children will suffer the most from the AIDS epidemic. While our government and Planned Parenthood may have good intentions they are both missing the point. The best solution to end the AIDS epidemic is likely to come through educating men and women to see one another as equals.