Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 30, 2007
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Online edition of India's National Newspaper Friday, Nov 30, 2007 ePaper |
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Tamil Nadu
MORAL SUPPORT: Students appending their signature on a poster at a multi- media campaign launched by actor Kamal Hassan to address the human rights of people living with HIV in Tamil Nadu, at a function in Chennai on Thursday. CHENNAI: Just ahead of the World AIDS Day this year, some of the key organisations working in the HIV/AIDS segment have joined forces to combat what they think is the “biggest real issue” today: human rights violations. The “Ini Oru Vidhi Seivom-Let’s make it right,” a joint campaign by the Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society and the UN, has gone where Tamil Nadu has not been so far. For the first time, Tamil Nadu will tap the star status of an actor to press the campaign forward. Kamal Hassan, the UN ambassador on HIV/AIDS, on Thursday launched the multimedia campaign in which he participated as an actor, writer and director to focus on changing the behaviour towards persons living with HIV/AIDS. “It is my duty, actually. I’m really happy to be used as a tool for a purpose that is as important as this,” Mr. Hassan told students of JBAS College for Women. While the number of people living with HIV/AIDS could fill 170 halls the size of the auditorium where the function held, Mr. Hassan said, there were as many who had not discussed treatment or even their status, fearing stigma and discrimination. He had come across many positive persons who had suffered shocking discrimination and neglect, and their tales had moved him deeply. “We have to promise them that we will uphold their rights.” Later, he administered a pledge, which he wrote in Tamil, to the students. Along with the actor, the audience acknowledged that people living with HIV had the same rights as others. D. Padmavathi, president, Tamil Nadu Positive Women’s Network, described the circumstances in which she came to terms with her infection and the humiliations she suffered at the hands of her family and society. “When I was first diagnosed, I had no idea what it was all about. Then, very little information was available. The scene has changed now; more information is available. I’m able to make my own living.” “But I still have not got even a part of the property owed to me. They tell me that they will not bother giving over property to a woman who is going to die anyway.” TANSACS project director Supriya Sahu explained the plight of a child infected with HIV, who said the most hurtful thing was being ignored by other children at play. “No amount of law or legislation can remove this mental block. We need a change in the mindset,” she said. This was the reason the programme was launched at a women’s college. The TANSACS believed that young girls could take the message of non-discrimination further. The partners for the campaign are the Heroes Project, partner NGOs and positive people’s networks. UN Co-ordinator Peter Bult said the campaign was an effort at recognising the human rights of people with HIV/AIDS. The UN supported projects in three areas: awareness and prevention, care and support and protecting human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. Sanjida Haris, principal, JBAS College for Women, spoke.
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