It is believe that Knowledge is power and if literacy has to do with knowledge, then to be illiterate means
one lacks power. Since most women lack reading and writing skills in this area, they are powerless when it
comes to accessing written information, and this could make them vulnerable to the spread of HIV/AIDS.
In this study, the findings supported the literature that women’s vulnerability is strongly influenced and
tied to illiteracy. Women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is real and needs to be addressed for there to be
any positive progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS. If HIV vulnerability (illiteracy) is not acknowledged
and fought, women will continue to succumb to the disease overwhelmingly and Igueben will eventually
disintegrate as it will be full of sick people intensifying underdevelopment. This study sought to explore
the relationship between illiteracy and the spread of HIV/AIDS infection among rural women. Fifteen
(15) illiterate women were purposively selected from the area to participate in this explorative study. The
research approach was qualitative. The research was undertaken within an interpretavist framework in
the sense that it is a communal process, informed by participating illiterate women, and sensitive to the
role of context (Alvermann, D.E., & Mallozzi, C.A. 2010). The design type used in this study is a case
study. Data was collected by means of interviews. The interview schedule consists of 10 open-ended
questions focusing on various aspects of their views on how illiteracy contributes to their vulnerability
of HIV/AIDS. The interview was tape recorded and transcribed verbatim, and the analysis was done by
means of constant comparative method (Merriam 1998).