The Invention of ‘Harmful Cultural Practices’ in the Era of AIDS in Malawi

The AIDS epidemic in Malawi and elsewhere has brought sexual and cultural practices under scrutiny for their potential role in transmitting the HIV virus. The discourse of ‘harmful cultural practices’ – a capacious phrase inclusive of practices like initiation ceremonies or widow inheritance that carry connotations of rurality and tradition – has circulated widely as a domain of intervention, actual or potential, by law and public health in Malawi. The discourse, finding expression in media representations, AIDS conferences, and policy and legal discussions, has generated significant attention; yet, there is no empirical evidence that conclusively supports a link between participation in such practices and elevated risk of contracting HIV. In this regard, I employ ethnographic discourse analysis to understand how cultural practices associated with tradition or village life became cast as harmful. I track how ‘harmful cultural practices’ took form as a domain of intervention across scales ranging from policy forums to villages to public health to media. I show how a melange of ‘evidence’, rhetorical turns and public discourse have stabilised ‘culture’ as a realm of risk fit for public health intervention and endless study. In illustrating how ‘evidence’ in these discussions becomes a highly compelling aesthetic prop that takes on a life of its own and aligns with multiple agendas, I depart from arguments that any distinct set of actors with specific interests or intentions (for example, elite Malawians) propagated or authored this discourse. This paper has wider relevance in its interest in how and why certain narratives in the context of African AIDS – particularly those about bodies, risk, sexuality and modernity – gain legitimacy over others. The ‘harmful cultural practices’ narrative finds resonance in postcolonial contexts within a global health–human rights nexus that elevates protection of the individual as property or bearer of rights.