Demanding action for a better life

The article came in the "Grassroots" in September 2009 issue

Demanding action for a better life

Dreams are dashed and life is tough for single woman who test positive since society deprives them of their basic rights

Pradeep Baisakh

Sunita Pati (name changed) of Orissa has nurtured several dreams for her twelve year old elder daughter Babismita-that she would do higher studies and prove herself to be a consequential person in future; she marry and lead a blissful life…But, she has never dared to do so for younger daughter, Ipsita (name changed), who is only seven years old. Whenever Ipsita demands that she would, like her elder sister, also read a lot, take up a good job, marry and have kids etc, her mother would never encourage her to dream. Why such discrimination among two daughters? Only mother Sunita knows the agony. Ipsita has been tested HIV+, which she has inherited form her parents and nobody knows if she would actually live so long to fulfil her dreams. The mother therefore has become cautious not to teach her to be ambitious about her future. The elder daughter somehow has not inherited HIV from her parents.

Sunita, like any other women in her village, was leading a smooth and happy life with her husband and these two daughters. Sky seemed to have fallen on her when her husband died due to the effect from HIV-AIDS before about eight years. Her husband was working as a private security in a bar in Mumbai. He had carried the virus through unprotected sex practices with commercial sex workers there (Which he admitted to his wife during last stage of his life). After his death, Sunita was separated from her in-law’s family in the village in Balasore district of the state. She was only given two rooms to stay by the in-laws but no livelihood support. For herself and her children’s survival she has been working as a daily labourer near her neighbours and villagers. But the life started becoming real hell when she was diagnosed as HIV +ve in June-July 2008. Her house was broken by her in laws leaving her no option but to take temporarily shelter, along with her two daughters, in the open veranda of a villager’s house. Her last hope was dashes when her younger daughter also diagnosed HIV+. Now she leads a life of unspoken misery. Nobody offers her any work after they knew that she is tested positive. With no help coming from the government also, she has absolutely nowhere to go.

Hafiza Beba (name changed) from Balasore district of the state also has lost her husband due to AIDS. She and her seven year daughter have also been tested HIV +ve. She has also undergone the fate that Sunita went through-humiliated, harassed by the in-laws and finally shown the door. In both the cases, the victims were not given their share of property from their in-laws. Sunita approached to the Police to check the ongoing harassment on her and to get her property, while Hafiza took the matter to the local Panchayat, but to no avail. Both these singled out women with children have been harassed and stigmatised for no fault of theirs.

Several such people, who have been tested HIV+, undergo highly traumatised life which is not quite known to the people in general. In a two days Women’s conclave held in Bhubaneswar, Orissa just before the Assembly election in April 2009, people living with HIV of various categories shared their agonies and put forward their demands to the political parties for inclusion in their manifestos. Different categories of such people are: single women with HIV, commercial sex workers, orphan and vulnerable children, Injecting Drug Users (IDU), sexual minorities (eunuchs and men having sex with men-MSM). The conclave was facilitated by Action Aid, the NGO that spreads awareness on AIDS and helps the affected people to know their responsibilities to the society and demand for their rights.

The government has made some rather insufficient arrangement for this category of people. Under Madhubabu Pension Yojana of the state government, such individuals get two hundred rupees a month and National AIDS Control Society (NACO) provides free Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) in some identified hospitals in the state where such therapy is administered. ART prolongs the life period of the HIV patient by improving the functioning of immune system.


The ground reality is quite grim as far as the needy being benefited by such schemes and provisions. It has been found that many already declared HIV+ people have not been covered under Madhubabu Pension Yojana. HIV mothers are not getting doctor’s and health workers’ support during delivery as the latter fear that they might get HIV. There are complaints that the children of HIV affected mothers are harassed and discriminated by the health workers and doctors when they are administered various immunisation programmes like BCG, Polio etc. They do not touch the children out of fear. Ostracised by the society, the single HIV +ve women face enormous problems to earn their livelihood like Sunita. Commercial sex workers having HIV are allegedly sexually harassed by the police, the local miscreants and even doctors. The minority sex groups like eunuchs also complained of being humiliated by one and all and deprived of every right due to their problem in identity.

The women’s conclave demanded to increase the amount of pension under Madhubabu Yojana from rupee 200 to rupees 500. The commercial sex workers exhorted that legalising prostitution can only protect them from various types of harassment they face. At the same time, they also told that they would leave this profession if are properly rehabilitated. Stay home should be created for housing affected single women and women with small children who have been deserted by their families and society; government should take proactive steps for early settlement of the property claims of the affected people in Fast Track courts; ART centres should be created n all the districts; (currently there are only three centres in Orissa and 197 the whole country) and for availing second line ART in Orissa. Second line ART is administered to them who have developed resistance to the first line ART. It urged that the government should undertake comprehensive policy measures for providing social security to the affected persons.