News Home > Hindunet News

 Search 
View News Paper of

Previous Date       Next Date

News on 16-06-2003
Jump to :    Business   General   Hindu   Politics   Sports  

< Previous News Item   [ 6 of 13 ]   Next News Item > 

Hindu News  Today's Headlines
'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. 

< Previous News Item   [ 6 of 13 ]   Next News Item > 

Previous Date       Next Date