Political Activism for HIV+ People

June 15, 2007

We visited an organization called RNP+, a network that links HIV+ people together throughout Jaipur and other regions, provides them a transitional home when they come in to visit the only two ART treatment centers in the whole state of Rajastan, some of them travelling great distances and having no other accommodations and helps train positive people to be peer educators for HIV patients in hospitals, as well as helps nourish skills that positive people may have, placing them in jobs such as front desk receptionist etc. The network also participates in political activism to further the rights of People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). As a matter of fact, we were unable to meet the president and founder of the network because he was participating in a hunger strike infront of the Rajastan AIDS Control Society, making a number of demands (see Farah's blog because her description of this visit is much more eloquent and comprehensive and she also has a copy of the demands on there), including the abolishment of a new practice of issuing identification cards to HIV+ people with their photo on it, which would tremendously increase stigma and further marginilize positive people.
Political activism from the gay community in the US in the 1980's and the present has given them a political voice, reduced stigma for PLWHA and helped bring abaout policy change. Similar efforts are being undertaken here in India with such organizations to bring PLWHA out of the shadows and into mainstream society.