'Grooms need AIDS test, not horoscopes'
2003-06-16 Published by Sify.com
Gathered by Associated Press
GUWAHATI,JUNE 16: Twenty-seven-year old Jahnabi Goswami has
a personal reason for campaigning to make pre-marital AIDS
tests mandatory -- she was infected with HIV by her husband
soon after they married.
"In India, a majority of parents visit astrologers with
horoscopes of the bride and the groom to find out if the
couple will stay happy after marriage," Goswami, a resident
of Assam, told AFP.
"But from my personal experience, instead of matching
horoscopes, it would be wise if the couple go for a blood
test to rule out being HIV-positive."
Goswami is one of the few women in India fighting to raise
awareness of the disease and one of an even smaller number
to have publicly declared that she is HIV-positive.
Government figures put the toll of HIV-positive Indians at
four million -- second only to South Africa -- although
unofficial estimates suggest the number is closer to five
million.
India was among those Asian nations warned recently by the
United Nations to take swift and decisive action to prevent
AIDS from reaching epidemic proportions. A recent US study
predicted there would be 20-25 million Indians infected with
HIV by 2010.
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