Guwahati: HIV +ve woman gets home, hope

January 12, 2003

HIV +ve woman gets home, hope CM gives house after she's turned away

by landlords

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Guwahati, January 3: To get a roof over her head, Jahnavi Goswami had

to go where no HIV-positive person in Assam has ever gone before: into

the glare of the public eye.

The 27-year-old, the first person in the state to go public with her

HIV-positive status, was given a house to call her own by the state

government today, seven years after she was thrown out by her in-laws

and refused housing by three landlords who told her they didn't want

``such a person around''.

Goswami, who contracted the virus from her husband—he has since died

of AIDS, as has her three-year-old son—has been home hunting for the

past one year. Her luck changed after she quit an assignment with

UNAIDS in New Delhi early last year and joined the Assam State Aids

Control Society.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today handed her the keys of a one-room

apartment, belonging to the Assam State Housing Board, at Dispur. The

board will not charge Goswami any rent.

``This is the end of a long search for a house of my own ever since I

was compelled to leave my husband's house,'' Goswami said. She briefly

lived with her parents in Kampur after being thrown out.

``It has been very difficult looking for a house on rent since society

isn't ready to accept people like me.'' Her dwellings secured, she has

decided to work with more vigour on spreading awareness about AIDS.

``Lessons on HIV/AIDS should be introduced in high schools so that the

younger generation, which is the most vulnerable, gets aware,''

Goswami told The Indian Express.

Chief Minister Gogoi has also awarded a grant of Rs 50,000 to repair

Goswami's 225 sq ft apartment. ``This is the best gift I have ever

given anybody in my life. It's also a new year gift from the people to

Jahnavi,'' Gogoi beamed as cameras clicked away. He admitted that the

AIDS awareness campaign in Assam hadn't made its desired impact yet.

``I have asked the Aids Control Society to gear up its activities. The

government machinery too has to contribute positively in spreading the

message against AIDS,'' he said.

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