HIV prevention: mapping Mozambican people’s views on the acceptability of the widow’s sexual cleansing ritual called pita-kufa

摘要

BackgroundIn Mozambique, the widow is traditionally required to undergo a cleansing ritual called pita-kufa, which generally involves several sessions of unprotected sexual intercourse with the brother of her deceased husband. This ritual may play a role in the spread of HIV and reveals, to some degree, the subordinate position to which women are subjected in Mozambican society. Thus, this study’s aim was to map Mozambicans’ views on the acceptability of this ritual, given the gender and public health concerns linked to it.