Radha (name changed), a young widow with a child, wept as she narrated how she got HIV from her husband. “My parents, though educated, didn’t bother to ask for an HIV negative test certificate from him. Besides, he looked healthy. I got to to know about the disease two years after my marriage, but it was too late by then,” she said. She has now extended support to an NGO, Red Ribbon, that has been pressing for the need for an HIV negative certificate from all would-be grooms.

When Red Ribbon activists flagged off their mission to make people aware about AIDS, there were very few takers of the concept of asking for an HIV negative certificate. In fact, in many places, the activists were treated like untouchables. However, with the rise in the number of deaths due to AIDS in the district, widows like Radha have begun supporting the movement. Radha, for instance, counsels people by telling them about her own experiences and the negligence on the part of her parents. Many women, like Radha, are kept in the dark about the husband’s HIV positive status.

“Initially, people used to ask us to stay at a ‘safe distance’ fearing they might get HIV if they came in our contact,” said Mahesh Hanme, president of Red Ribbon. However, with awareness building up, the Red Ribbon’s slogan — “Don’t see ‘kundali’, instead, get HIV negative certificate from the groom before fixing marriage” — has become popular in the district and family members of prospective brides seem willing to talk about it. “What’s wrong in asking for the certificate? I will give my daughter’s hand to the person who shows me the certificate,” said Sarasvati Jadhav, a Solapur Municipal Corporation officer.

... contd.