Fight AIDS, Not People With AIDS

There was this slogan on a poster promoting AIDS awareness. It was a brilliant poster, with two hands, white and dark in complexion, joined in the form of the AIDS ribbon symbol. The picture expressed elegantly a strong message about the hostility the AIDS victims face from society. It put my internal cog wheels into motion about the secure bubble we teenagers or well off people stay in.

AIDS, one of the greatest killer diseases has undoubtedly one very contagious and piteous symptom feared the most- FEAR. The fear of being associated with someone tested positive for AIDS or even someone who is related to someone else tested positive. The tag one subconsciously puts on an AIDS victim being so destandardised dis-regarding outlook, is very natural of us Indians. Children victims are given the same narrow window of dislike as they are given to adults and sex workers. The society has branded AIDS with a very demeaning tone, something unruly and not worth living if affected by. The contempt people show, immaterial how helpless the victim might be is sad to comprehend.

The society that we make is enriched with awareness programs, processions, demonstrations, informative ads, etc but the common Indian Middle Man outlook has a long way to go. The safe over protective bubble Indian parents exercise on their kids, adds as a hindrance to open sex education at school level. This safe bubble that we keep confined our children in becomes an integral reason of their notions and stigmas when they grow up to be adults. They turn out to express the same hostile and unfriendly relation to the AIDS notion as a whole.

India having Chennai opening the doors to AIDS, now stands at a staggering 2.3 million, of which, an estimated 39% are female and 3.5% are children. Hopefully, data and the success rates preventing the disease target a decline in growth rate in future. Apart from spreading awareness on how to prevent AIDS, we need to acknowledge the social stigma implicated on the ones who already suffer from it.

Stigma is made worse by lack of knowledge about AIDS. The percentage of people who have heard about HIV and AIDS in urban areas is 94% of men and 83% of women as compared to 77% of men and 50% of women living in rural areas.

Albeit we have awareness programs and others promoting information, common superstitions strongly discriminate the victims living in rural and low literacy level areas. The situation in rural areas desperately needs change. These beliefs with no scientific support and certain deep rooted baseless beliefs, blow up already existing hostility. For example, in 2009, NACO carried a certain survey in Nagaland, which showed that 72.8% of people thought that HIV could be transmitted by sharing food with someone. Majority of men and women in rural areas believe that AIDS can be transmitted by mosquito bites. People living with HIV have faced violent attacks, been rejected by families, spouses and communities, been refused medical treatment, and even, in some reported cases, denied the last rites before they die. These problems arise not only in rural areas; it is a very disturbing situation at urban locations too.

Thus being the situation, apparently the life of an AIDS victim is stripped off. Worse, people in marginalized groups - female sex workers, hijras (transgender) and gay men - are often stigmatized not only because of their HIV status, but also because they belong to socially excluded groups.

AIDS victims are not necessarily innocent, save one’s who dint have any hand in it like oppressed women or children. Indulging in unsafe sex, drugs etc could be blamed for, but that should not prevent one from lending a helping hand or here, lending them a broad mind accepting them as a part of the community.

With all the grey and white matter, we might throw a lasso to tame the disease and may eradicate it one day, but the aura that the beast leaves behind, is truly torturous. Its not only the diseases that we must prevent, as a society, as a group, it is the mis-conceptions commonly associated with them which must be completely eradicated in order to grant the deserving rights a common man needs. The right to live with form and dignity.