‘In sexual life women are hunters’: AIDS and women who drain men's bodies. The case of the meru of Northern Tanzania

This article is based on field research among the Meru people who live in the Arusha Region in northern Tanzania (from 1989 until 1995). It explores why women are seen as the cause and transmitters of AIDS as is the case in most of Africa. In order to understand forms of blame, the paper discusses why men (and women) perceive sexually active women as both dangerous and threatening to their health. In sexual life, men argue, ‘women are hunters, they ambush and lure men and they milk them’. Thus, this article argues that AIDS is perceived as a woman who, after draining the wealthy and healthy man of his substances, then moves on to another. Both the virus and women might be perceived as transitory agents that constantly target the healthy individuals of a population and drain them of their life substance. The study is mainly based on qualitative data collection, in-depth case studies and participation in daily life situations and frequent encounters with informante.