Twitter
Advertisement

Pak AIDS campaign reaches out through Islam

Pakistan has recruited Muslim clerics in a new campaign to raise AIDS awareness to reach out to tens of thousands of people suffering either in silence or ignorance because of taboos in its conservative Islamic society.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recruited Muslim clerics in a new campaign to raise AIDS awareness to reach out to tens of thousands of people suffering either in silence or ignorance because of taboos in its conservative Islamic society.

Although there are only 3,297 reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan, the officials in the national AIDS control programme reckon the real number of cases would be more than 80,000.   

"The reported ones are just the tip of the iceberg," Qamar-ul-Islam Siddiqi, a programme coordinator said.

"We have enlisted the help of religious leaders and clerics and printed specific material of Koranic teachings in order to reach the majority of Pakistan's 160 million people," Islam said.   

A reference book and posters with Koranic verses stress the need for compassion and care in dealing with people suffering from the disease, and observe Islamic teachings against sex outside marriage.

Other Islamic countries, such as Indonesia and Egypt, have translated the Pakistani material for use in their national programmes.

Iqbal Khalil, a senior leader of the country's main religious opposition party, Jamaat-e-Islami, has used the reference book to prepare sermons for Friday prayers.

"We are encouraging even strict clerics in northwestern areas to deliver this model sermon to create more awareness among the people," Khalil said.

There is a very low incidence of reported cases from Pakistan's northwest, but the number of unreported cases is believed to be far higher as many Pakistani migrant workers in the Middle East come from either this region or the villages of central Punjab province.

"Many of them are deported (from the Middle East) after testing HIV positive. It is very important to make them aware of the risk they pose to their families and to change their lifestyle," Dr Adnan Khan, a consultant with the programme said.

The Pakistan government launched its programme in 1995 but Islam said it had been difficult to create awareness due to the social and religious constraints and the stigma attached to AIDS.

Many Pakistanis only associate the disease with sex outside marriage, which is strictly prohibited in Islam, and are ignorant of the other ways in which it can be transmitted, namely through contaminated blood or sharing needles for injections.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement