Seven times as many men as women are living with HIV in Pakistan, but HIV stigma and taboos around sex make it difficult to successfully address the epidemic, The New York Times reports (nytimes.com, 7/22). The findings were published in medical journal The Lancet.
Safe-sex education and condom use are uncommon in the Muslim country, where at least 85,000 people are living with the virus according to UNAIDS. Because Islamic law prohibits extramarital sex, many Pakistanis do not believe that HIV/AIDS is a concern in Muslim countries.
In Pakistan, like many other countries, men who have sex with men exist—as do male sex workers—but they’re considered taboo in the conservative culture, further compounding HIV education, prevention and treatment efforts.
NEW! Scroll down to comment on this story.
Please click OK to confirm your comment and confirm you accept our posting rules. Note your message will be reviewed by our staff before going live.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
