Gender inequality drives and is driven by HIV and AIDS, an epidemic that will continue as long as this inequality persists. This paper shows how the progressive feminisation of AIDS reflects the dominance of men over women. It brings together some of the evidence calling for an effective gender perspective on AIDS and argues that AIDS is only one expression of the way women are denied their dignity as full and equal human beings. Responding to global discrimination and prejudice against women calls for interventions beyond the domain of HIV and AIDS, For this reason, recent moves and statements from the Catholic Church and the UN are welcomed as signalling a long awaited global transformation.