Ref: Widow stoned to death: Outrageous incident

[Guest guest]

Dear Meera

It is indeed an outrageous incident that has taken place in Chittoor.

How ever let us not assume that the unanimous work on HIV/AIDS by all

of us has reached every nook and corner of our country and let us

also not imagine and assume that all our vast encouraging training

and expertise has put an end to the stigma and discrimination of

HIV/AIDS.

We need to conscioulsy make an effort at two levels:

1. Yes! you bringing it to the notice of all of us working in the

field of HIV/AIDS has to come to lime light and believe that these

things are still taking place. There fore conscious effrots should

now start moving to educate the public at large not only through us

but by making integrated efforts and that i mean every NGO working

for any kind of cause should bring in HIV/AIDS as a part of their

curriculum to disseminate. Trust you few organisations specializing

in HIV/AIDS will not be able to cover the entire country. Efforts

should therefore be multiplied.

2. We need to identify the nearest NGO working on HIV/AIDS and find

out what on earth were they doing and conciously if they were doing

work then how would this incident miss their eyes in the realm of

their specialsied HIV project that they are working, because this is

not a days incident. It has been happening over a period of time. If

so the State AIDS Control Society should look into the matter and

raise a question. Let us also as NGOs take responsibility if we claim

that we are specializing in the HIV/AÌDS field.

3. We also need to take into account of the back gorund of the people

and the situation that we are still into: what i mean is the literacy

level of people to understand the issues behind PLHA, the fact that

we still hide sex and sexuality, the closenss behnd it even among the

educated lot, still in the world of abstinance, still hiding

ourselves to talk about condoms in schools and particuarly the teen

agers, our condom policy running into pages scientifically - where as

what we need today is an open market sales of condoms,elders and

youngsters talking about condoms freely.... and it goes on. Well if

this is the condition among the educated what would you then

expect out of the illiterate crowd or the less educated crowd.

3. SACS should make sure that all parts of the state are covered to

implement interventions and not just targetted interventions. It is

high time that we include in our strategy the integrating of HIV

programs through other NGOS also.

I am sure it will be yet another set back for the PLHA on hearing this

incident but i guess let us also start using our brains to identify

where it went wrong and rectify.First let us think of rendering space

to the society to talk about sex and sexuality and then we would

quite astonsihingly see AIDS taking care of by itself. Until that

situation arises we will still go around beating the bush and more

such incidences will have to be faced in future also.

I hope and trust in your capacity you could identify the nearest NGO

and work with them, convince the police to take the perpeturators

into custody and render a wide media report so as to reach the

villages.

Correct me if I am wrong!

Regards

Shyamala ashok

E-mail: aabinand@...