The Guardian reports that HIV-positive women in Africa are being sterilised without their consent. The International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS is bringing a lawsuit against the Namibian government, and cases have been reported in Zambia, South Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fine state of affairs, huh? For eight years family planning services laboured under Bush’s woman-hating ‘global gag rule’ that forbade them offering information about abortions (much less actual abortions). Now, the other side of the coin:

Documented cases in Namibia where HIV-positive women minutes from giving birth were encouraged to sign consent forms to prevent them from having more children. Jennifer Gatsi-Mallet, [ICW's] co-ordinator in the country, said: “They were in pain, they were told to sign, they didn’t know what it was.

It adds up to the same thing. Women’s bodies don’t really belong to them. That goes double for the poor, women of colour and any other group that society can single out as less than “normal”. The plight of HIV positive African women may seem a remote concern, but it is only a few steps further along the spectrum of disrespect.

Check out the ICW website for more information.