Twenty-six years have passed since the first case of AIDS was reported in Assam but women here still know very little about the deadly disease.
Comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS among women in the age bracket of 15-49 remains minimal. According to the latest National Family Health Survey (2015-16) report released last year, only 9.4% of women in the specified age bracket had comprehensive knowledge about the disease.
Assam cuts a sorry figure when compared to its sisters in the region: Mizoram (66.4%), Meghalaya (13.3%), Nagaland (12.2%), Sikkim (25.5%), Tripura (28%) and Manipur (40.7%).
The state will follow the rest of the world in celebrating International Women’s Day on Wednesday but factors like ignorance, gender inequality, minimal awareness on contraceptives and usage of safety methods have rendered a section of women here vulnerable to AIDS/HIV.
As on October 31 last year, 1,012 pregnant women were detected with HIV out of the 17,08,918 women who were tested at the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre. In 2015 (up to September 30) 867 pregnant women were found to be HIV positive out of 13,76,766. The year before, 769 pregnant women were found to be HIV positive out of 11,95,412.
“Few women here know that using a condom can reduce the chances of getting HIV/AIDS. Awareness needs to be inclusive,” said SI Ahmed, one of the first medical practitioners in the state to study AIDS in the region.
HIV positive women continue to face difficulties in getting property rights, facing social stigma and being denied housing facilities.