Imphal, November 27: More than the HIV virus and its associated �opportunistic infections�, many HIV positive young widows in Manipur are being exposed to the danger of their opportunist colleagues who try to take advantage of their situation and innocence, thereby leaving a permanent scar that may not be healed despite advancement in medical science.

32-year old Memchoubi (name changed on request) has been on ART treatment since 2004 after she came to know of her HIV status in 2000 following the death of of her husband.

She has an 8-year old daughter.

In order to get the ART treatment, she went to the office of an organisation working for the welfare of HIV/AIDS patients.

There she came across another HIV positive man who seemed to understand her problem.

Memchoubi did not know at that time that his willingness to help her out had an ulterior motive.

The man has a wife, yet he had the temerity to lie to Memchoubi that his wife had deserted him because of his HIV status.

As innocent as she was, Memchoubi believed whatever the man said and thought she had found a reliable friend with whom she could share her problems.

No doubt, the man helped in getting the necessary counselling and ART treatment for Memchoubi, but by that time, he had started revealing his true colour and started exploiting her vulnerability.

�More than the danger of HIV virus, it is these men living in our society who look at women as sexual objects�, Memchoubi said recalling one of the bitter experiences of her life.

�It is against such lecherous men that newly widowed young women have to be on guard against while seeking help�, she said, lamenting �it is really unfortunate that men working in some of the organisations dealing with HIV/AIDS do not understand the plight of HIV positive young widows and prey upon them.

�I would not like to make any claim over that man for what he had done to my life.

What I would do with his properties, when he had already destroyed my life�, Memchoubi said rueing her fate.

This is not the end of the ordeal that HIV positive young widows like Memchoubi have to encounter in their day-to-day life.

Apart from casting aspersion on their moral character and passing derogatory remarks by the people when they go out from home to work or on some other purpose, Memchoubi said they also suffered sexual harassment in the hands of some of the persons working in the ART Centre.

� There are instances in which I do not even dare go to the Centre to get my medicines because of such encounters with men who cannot treat women as their own sisters and mothers�, she said.

Comment