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RESOLUTION 1325
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EMPOWERING WOMEN TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS
February 14, 2005- (New Striaghts Times) Bejewelled
and dressed in a sequined salwar kameez, pretty Kiran Zareen looks
nothing like the stereotype exploited sex worker. She’s only
23 but her heavily-kohled eyes and knowing smile belie her age.
Born in one of the red light districts of Hyderabad in Pakistan, she’s
been a sex worker since she was 12. She earns between 35 and 40,000
Pakistani rupees (RM3,000 plus) a month, a lucrative income that gives
her a comfortable lifestyle.
“I’m happy, but it will be difficult for me to find someone
to accept and marry me,” she said. “This is one of the disadvantages
of the job.”KIRAN: Spreads the importance of condom usage as
an outreach peer worker.
But she is quick to point out that the bleak prospect of remaining
single is nothing compared to the risk faced by sex workers due to
the HIV/AIDS scourge.
This is why she volunteers for the Greenstar Project, a government-supported
venture that runs a clinic in Serey Ghat, the fourth largest red light
district area in Pakistan.
The clinic functions as a resource centre that disseminates health
and disease prevention messages. It is from here that Kiran, as well
as five other sex workers, operate as peer outreach workers.
“As a peer worker, my duty is to spread knowledge about HIV/AIDS
and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the importance of using
condoms to prevent it from spreading in our community,” she said.
“I teach other sex workers and also my clients.”
On whether she intends to give up sex work in the future, she said:
“No, I like my financial independence.”
Kiran was one of the participants at the first Asia Pacific Women,
Girls and HIV/AIDS Best Practices Conference held in Islamabad, Pakistan
recently. She was there to represent local sex workers as well as
gain more knowledge HIV/AIDS and share her experience as a Greenstar
peer outreach worker.
The three-day conference was a benchmark in terms of its content and
issues as it was the first HIV/AIDS conference that focused on girls
and women. It headlined current statistics that reflect the increased
global feminisation of AIDS with more than half of those infected
being women and girls.
International delegates of various fields and specialisations got
together to share strategies, knowledge and best practices for the
prevention and treatment of the epidemic. There were representatives
from Malaysia, India, China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar,
Iran and the United Nations.
The conference, jointly organised by the Pakistani Government, Pakistan
National AIDS Control Programme and non-governmental organisation
AMAL Human Development, was launched by Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat
Aziz.
He called on concerted and coordinated efforts by Asian countries
to prevent HIV/AIDS through health reforms, empowerment of their women
and poverty alleviation.
Dr Nafis Sadik, special envoy to the UN secretary-general on HIV/AIDS,
was also present to deliver the key-note address. Later, a pre-recorded
speech by Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, the president of the Malaysian
AIDS Council, was shown via video.
The conference, which took place at the Islamabad Marriott Hotel,
kicked off with a plenary session by the Pakistan National AIDS Control
Programme manager Dr Asma Bukhari. Gender discrimination, human rights
abuses and youth practices in preventing HIV/AIDS were the main topics
later addressed at various workshops.
The following day saw more workshops. Three were conducted by members
of the Malaysian contingent.
Catherine Arumanayagam of the Women and Health Association of Kuala
Lumpur talked about her experience running a half-way home for homeless
and HIV/AIDS-positive female sex workers.
“Many sell their bodies to support their husbands’ or boyfriends’
drug habit,” she said. “Many become drug users themselves
to numb their senses, it’s easier to do their jobs this way.
Many give birth to children who are not issued birth certificates
and therefore denied access to education.
“Sex workers are not educated about HIV/AIDS and STIs and do
not have identification documents to have access to hospital treatment,
which results in delayed health care. They are stigmatised, unable
to get alternative jobs, thrown out of rented rooms and often end
up homeless.”
Fadzilah Abdul Hamid of Rumah Soleha in Malaysia presented a paper
on HIV Positive Muslim Womenim are and Support Challenge. “Stigma
and discrimination are prevalent in Malaysia, and particularly directed
against Muslim HIV. There is a widespread belief that are infected
becauseinst are infected because they have been promiscuous, but the
reality is that they are infected by their husbands.‚Äö¯Ñ¯þWomen
isol
Khartini Slamah of the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers talked
about the problems and discrimination faced by sex workers. Women
isolated in brothels or hotels are prevented, or unable, to access
information and services vital to their protection.
“It’s not just about providing condoms, it’s also providing
information on how to use them,” she said. “Sex workers
need realistic work alternatives, they don’t need any more sewing
machines.”
Globally, young women and girls are more susceptible to HIV than men
or boys, with studies showing they can be 2.5 times more likely to
be HIV-infected as their male counterparts. Their vulnerability is
primarily due to inadequate knowledge about AIDS, insufficient access
to HIV prevention services, inability to negotiate safer sex and a
lack of female-controlled HIV prevention methods such as microbicides.
At the same time, all over the world, women do not enjoy the same
rights and access to employment, property and education as men. Women
and girls are also more likely to face sexual violence, which can
accelerate the spread of HIV.
Around half of all people living with HIV in the world are female.
This is why HIV-positive women have a unique and
valuable role to play, in society and in fighting HIV/AIDS. Women
hold families and communities together and are a source of great strength
in the face of HIV/AIDS.
Taken from: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/Features/20050213171017/Article/indexb_html
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