By Rajeev Ranjan Dwivedi, NNN-PTI
Hyderabad : They are HIV-positive. But these women are far from fearful about their future.
Around 8,000 women from Andhra Pradesh suffering from HIV/AIDS gathered here to share their experiences of being part of a people’s movement in the state for prevention and treatment of the disease.
“The awareness levels have increased in the last one year and the HIV-positive women are coming out in the open. The contributing factors include increased number of networks which are enrolling more people living with HIV/AIDS.
All these networks are working effectively in reaching out to the general population,” said 24-year-old Laxmi from Krishna district, one of the participants at the event held, on Friday.
She said the ‘Be Bold Campaign’, which is being implemented as a people’s movement in the state, is helping in effective HIV-prevention and minimising stigma and discrimination.
“After seeing the number of HIV-positive women who have gathered at this state-level meeting, I feel confident that the stigma and discrimination that people suffering from this disease go through can be get rid of,” Laxmi said.
Ramadevi (22), from West Godavari district, said earlier women suffering from HIV/AIDS could never dare to come out in the open about their disease status.
“Earlier we did not come out, but now we are more frank about the disease and many women are coming out since the programmes provide us with more awareness and confidence,” she said.