Make HIV test a must before marriage

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Women's Commission has urged the state government to make HIV tests mandatory for wannabe couples. The panel says it finds alarming the predicament of women who become AIDS victims because of their husbands and such a test would act as an effective preventive measure. 

"Many women, mostly poor, come to us complaining that they've been infected by their partners. After hearing their difficulties, we decided to conduct a study to go into the problem," Justice D Sreedevi, commission chairperson said. 

The study revealed that the number of men getting married keeping their infection a secret has only increased. Women who get infected have to go through an ordeal and at least 70% of them are sacked by their employers. Most of these women earn Rs 1,000 or less. 

"Given these problems, we felt the best possible solution would be to make HIV test mandatory before marriage. The government should make a law to ensure this," Justice Sreedevi said.

HIV+ student denied hostel

MADURAI: Authorities of a college near Dindigul town in southern Tamil Nadu have denied hostel accommodation to an HIV positive student after they learnt about his health condition. Staff at the Amman College of Arts and Science asked P Manikandan, 22, a second-year student of BSc computer science, to vacate his room as he fell ill often. 

The Dindigul administration, instead of advising the college to accommodate the youth in the hostel, has agreed to take care of his accommodation expenses outside. Collector M Vallalar told TOI that activists brought the issue to him and he had made enquiries. "The college administration told me that the student was frequently ill with fever and diarrhoea and as the boys were staying in a dormitory, others were also affected." So, the college decided to ask Manikandan to live outside the campus