Lesotho, Feb. 25 -- In many Basotho households, conversations about condoms remain difficult - especially within marriage. While HIV prevention campaigns often focus on young people and those outside long-term relationships, married women are frequently the least able to negotiate safe intimacy, despite living in a country where HIV prevalence remains above 20 percent.

For many women, asking for condom use in marriage is interpreted as mistrust or an accusation of infidelity. The consequences can be conflict, emotional harm, or fear of abandonment - leaving silence as the safer option.

"Sometimes you choose peace over protection," says one married woman who asked to remain anonymous. "You know the risk, but you also know what can happe...