Sunita's story: Support for people living with HIV and AIDS
27 November 2007
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Millennium Development Goal 5: HIV & AIDS
 Sunita is 32. Born and brought up in Aurangabad,
at the age of 18 Sunita had an arranged marriage to an engineer in the Indian Navy.
"On our wedding night, my husband told me all about his past affairs, but at
that time he knew nothing about HIV himself. However, he was an honest man, and
told me everything on the first night itself. He was always good to me and we were good
friends. In an arranged marriage, you cannot walk out on your husband. You just
have to adjust. I didn’t
see any point in leaving him. I wanted to lead a happy life and share my joys
and sorrows with him."
"My family supported me through all of this"
After two years of marriage, Sunita became pregnant. It was then that she
found out that both she and her husband were HIV-positive. At first, they kept
their HIV status to themselves, but when her husband became so ill that he was
admitted to hospital, it was no longer possible to stay silent. Understandably,
Sunita feared how her family and neighbours would react.
"I was extremely afraid of the situation and told my brother. I didn’t know
what else I could have done. My brother accepted me and asked me to test my
daughters. They were both HIV-negative. My family supported me through all of
this. They told me not to worry and that they would be there for me."
Sunita was fortunate to have a supportive family, and she now lives with her
parents. But for many women in India, admitting to being HIV-positive could mean
being shunned by your relatives, becoming a victim of violence, and losing your
job and home. The human rights organisation
 Breakthrough, which is backed
by DFID, is aiming to reduce the stigma that surrounds HIV and AIDS and address the
discrimination faced by HIV-positive women. Sunita is telling her story
as part of Breakthrough's
Is This
Justice? campaign, which is well known in India through its adverts.
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Breaking through fear and prejudice
When Sunita found out about the Aurangabad branch of the
Network of
People Living with HIV/AIDS (INP+), she knew
she wanted to help. Inspired by INP+'s efforts to improve the quality of life
for Indians with HIV and AIDS, Sunita began work for them in her hometown. And, in
time, she was made the president of the Aurangabad branch.
"Our main activities have been counselling, increasing the strength of the
Network, and building up the strength and confidence of those with HIV. Support
group meetings are very important. It allows people to know that they are not
alone. Most women here at the centre are mentally and physically unwell, and
economically unstable. Many are widows, many have been disowned by their
families, and many are abused."
Through her work with local women, and by sharing her experience through
national adverts, Sunita is playing her part in breaking down the fear and
prejudice that affect the lives of many HIV-positive Indians.
"There is discrimination everywhere but it depends on how you react to it. We
need to explain the issues around HIV to people who discriminate against us. We
need to explain to them the difference between having AIDS and being HIV-positive. Very
often the issue is that we are unable to explain things to other people. If
someone says something rude, we hide and cry. But we need to explain things to
others so that they can get rid of their ignorance."
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Key Facts
- Breakthrough is an international human rights organization that uses
media, education and popular culture to promote values of dignity, equality
and justice. Its Information, Education and Communication campaign to
reduce HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination against women is supported
through DFID's
Communication
and Advocacy Support Programme (CASP).
- The CASP fund seeks to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS through a focused
and sensitive communication strategy. CASP has 12 partner organisations
implementing 17 projects. Together, the projects have a presence in 26
states, encompassing 520 districts. The projects engage a range of
target groups including women, youth, and populations with little or no
access to television or other media.
- CASP is managed through DFID India's
Programme Management Office
(PMO) in New Delhi. The PMO manages DFID's funding support to the
Government of India’s
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and National AIDS Control
Programme Phase II (NACP II).
- DFID has funded the National Aids Control Programme (NACP) through
£95 million between 2005 and 2007. DFID is working in partnership with
NACO to implement
Phase II of NACP.
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