Indian village forces couples to take hiv test

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Indian village forces couples to take HIV tests

Amrit Dhillon, New Delhi, February 10, 2007

ALARMED at the spiralling number of HIV cases, a remote village in

south India has made it mandatory for couples getting married to be

tested for the virus beforehand.

Every village in India has an elected " panchayat " or village council

that determines local issues.

The council in Budni, in the state of Karnataka, has decided that the

only way to curb the spread of HIV is to make sure that no HIV-

positive person marries and passes it on to their spouse.

" We are fed up with boys living in the cities coming to marry our

girls, going off after the marriage and then finding that the girl,

who stayed behind, has got the virus. It's ruining young lives, "

council head Shrikant Prasad said.

After seeing 18 people — including four children — die in the past

four years, the council passed a resolution insisting that engaged

couples would have to show test results proving their HIV-negative

status, he said. Otherwise the council will veto the nuptials.

The village's bold move has surprised many. Although only 150

kilometres from Bangalore, the state capital, it inhabits another

century: no roads, electricity, secondary school or even a primary

health centre.

Yet it has stolen a march on the Karnataka Government, which is still

deciding whether to make premarital HIV tests mandatory. HIV has

already infected half a million people in the state.

Another southern Indian state with a high number of HIV cases, Andhra

Pradesh, is also considering mandatory testing.

South India has a high prevalence of HIV. Men, driven by poverty to

leave their villages and find work in the cities, usually infect

their wives during their annual visits home.

The women, in turn, pass on the virus to unborn children.

" We had a four-year-old boy dying a few weeks ago of AIDS, " council

member Arun Naganur said. " It was heartbreaking for his mother. We

don't want any more such deaths. "

Ignorance is largely responsible for the spread of HIV in India. Last

year, a survey found that two-thirds of MPs thought that the virus

could be caught from sharing clothes with an infected person.

Uneducated villagers believe, among other things, that putting

coconut oil on the penis will cure AIDS, washing the penis with urine

straight after intercourse will prevent AIDS, and that having sex

with a virgin — or a donkey — can cure it.

Whether Budni's example will be followed by other villages is

uncertain. Mandatory premarital testing is controversial.

Most marriages in India are arranged by parents, who typically

believe their child is as pure as the driven snow. Many parents could

baulk at having to provide such information.

" I don't oppose premarital testing, but we have to be aware that it

could spark off a new industry in fake negative certificates, " said

Ashok Khanna, an AIDS volunteer worker in Bangalore.

An estimated 5.7 million people in India are afflicted with AIDS/HIV,

more than any other country in the world.

The vast majority are too frightened of the stigma and discrimination

the virus provokes to admit that they have it. Many HIV-positive

Indians commit suicide in despair at being shunned and despised by

those closest to them.

No famous star, sports person or celebrity in India has ever admitted

to being HIV-positive.

But in some parts of India, HIV-positive men and women are getting

together to tie the knot. There are special marriage offices for HIV-

positive people all over the country to help them to find a partner.

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