By Oyunga Pala
The shoe shiners in the market center of Luanda, in western Kenya occupy a section of long shelter next to the Kisumu-Busia highway. Over the period that I frequented their corner, I have noticed a condom dispenser attached to the back wall.
Out of curiosity, I eventually enquired from the men if there were actually any condoms in it.
The answer was affirmative. One of the shoe shiners, with glazed eyes at 10am on a hot market day, stumbled over his colleagues to the box to prove it. He pulled out strips of condoms and told me that I could have as many as I wanted.
A week later when I returned for my regular shoeshine, the same guy had the nerve to ask me if I had cleared my last stock. Yeah, source condoms in a public space and you earn the stereotype of a randy goat.
Yet it is now over 20 years since I first heard about HIV and Aids and learnt to use protection.
Awareness levels are high in the country. Condoms and bottled water are nowadays a basic necessity of life.
Medical treatment regimens have advanced and the infected can now counter the ravages of the disease with antiretroviral combinations. Science is getting closer to a cure.
Trust
However, as far prevention goes, we still place all faith on a thin sheet of latex.
Of all the preventive measures, namely Abstinence and Fidelity, wearing a condom is by far the most popular among young adults.
Since the family unit and religious authorities have failed miserably in the role of moral policing, many young people have placed their trust (no pun intended) on condom manufacturers.
In that light, advertising campaigns have succeeded in making condom use synonymous with a healthy sexual lifestyle. Media installments such as the popular MTV mini-series Shuga, dubbed Love, Sex and Money, drum in a similar message.
The conversation of sex and relationships is intertwined with condoms. Condoms are cool, akin to the Marlboro man tobacco advertising before the health authorities laid down stringent rules.
Unfortunately, marketing messages of condoms deliberately create a low risk perception among its users as other hyped up methodologies like male circumcision.
The natural response is for people to overindulge under the assumption that risks are negligible or totally eliminated. Thus, assumption makes them easily vulnerable.
STDs
Therefore, to battle ignorance and save a few more lives, it’s high time condom manufacturers adopted warning labels. Though proper use will limit exposure, they are many other factors to consider. I have suggestions that could be incorporated.
Condoms will not protect you from all STDs such as HPV, (Human papillomavirus) which causes genital warts and cervical cancer.
Prolonged or rough sexual activity decreases lubrication making rupture possible.
Heavy use of drugs and alcohol greatly impairs the effective use of a condom. Use this product in moderation.
Condoms can encourage promiscuity. Sex with a married person can put you in harm’s way. Please keep out of reach of children.
We could go on: This product is not easy to flush away. If you suffer from a latex allergy or experience irritation try a product from our competitors.
Do not bite this product. Don’t have sex in a pool. Chlorine and oil based substances will destroy the efficacy of a condom.
Condoms can slip off during the act. Choose the right selection to protect your member and not your ego.
Store in a cool place; not your back pocket. Lastly, Warning: Misuse may lead to regrets, cause pregnancy, disease and, in extreme cases, death.
The bottom line is that there is no such thing as safe sex. One may have safer sex but only after they acknowledge that condoms have a ten per cent failure rate.