Archives > December 2006
HIV/AIDS, Gender Discrimination
Gorkhapatra - Kathmandu,Nepal, December 31, 2006
This article is an urgent call to initiate action to address the triple threat of gender inequality, poverty and HIV/AIDS.
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Rate of Infection of AIDS Higher Among Paramilitary Forces, Reveals Study
Hindu - New Delhi, India, December 30, 2006
The rate of infection of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including HIV/AIDS, among the Central police and paramilitary forces is two to five times higher than in the civilian population, a study by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has found.
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Children And Our Responsibility
Gorkhapatra - Kathmandu,Nepal, December 30, 2006
Domestic violence against children, trafficking children for sexual exploitation, bonded or forced labour, exploitation of working children, child sex abuse and child marriage prevail.
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24 Million Deaths Reported World-Wide due to AIDS Since 1981
The Hindu - Jammu, December 30, 2006
The project director of Jammu and Kashmir AIDS control society, Dr M A Wani said, there are 42 million cases of HIV/AIDS world-wide, and nearly 24 million deaths since 1981. He said in Jammu and Kashmir 1,024 cases of HIV and 95 cases of AIDS have been detected; 37 deaths have taken place due to AIDS in the State.
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New Breed of Indonesian Writer finds that Sex Sells
Cape Times - Ubud, Indonesia, December 29, 2006
In a conservative, predominantly Muslim society where sexual themes were forbidden until a few years ago, Indonesian "chick lit" writers have pushed social and cultural boundaries by writing with candour on subjects such as extra-marital affairs, female sexuality and homosexuality.
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Dismal Picture Emerges of Child Rights in 2006
The News - Karachi, Pakistan, December 29, 2006
An annual report released by Society for Protection of Rights of Child (SPARC) revealed that the factors responsible for violation of child rights were the Jirga system, Karo Kari, accidents, medical negligence, incidents of kidnapping and disappearance, education, murder, suicide or attempted suicide, minor marriages, sexual abuse and violence by law-enforcement agencies.
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AIDS Control Programme to be Expanded to Tribals
Hindu - Chennai,India, December 29, 2006
Phase-III of the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) will expand treatment, care and support to the indigenous population in vulnerable rural and urban areas in India.
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Britain Launches Controversial Home Screening HIV/AIDS Test Kit
All Headline News - USA, December 28, 2006
Controversial home HIV screening service called Dr. Thom is launched across Britain, which allows a person to send in a saliva sample to a laboratory, and, if negative for HIV, sends results via e-mail. If HIV positive, the kit offers a phone call from a 'health professional' in addition to seeking a formal diagnosis from a genito-urinary clinic.
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Chinese Court Backs Pfizer Viagra Patent
Hemscott - Shanghai, China, December 28, 2006
A Chinese court has upheld the validity of U.S. drug maker Pfizer Inc.'s patent for Viagra, ordering two companies to stop sales of generic versions of the erectile dysfunction treatment and pay compensation for trademark infringements, a court official said Thursday.
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Always a Victim
The Telegraph - Calcutta, India, December 28, 2006
The chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) of India has recommended a slew of changes in laws related to adultery and live-in relationships. That adultery should be treated as a civil offence rather than a criminal one; and with reference to the recently promulgated Domestic Violence Act, which seeks to protect women against physical and verbal threat in live-in relationships.
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AIDS Prevention Education Project for Chinese Youth Launched
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China, December 27, 2006
The project, set to run for five years, aims to raise 100 million yuan which will be used to carry out special educational activities for AIDS prevention at 10,000 universities and colleges, vocational schools and secondary schools.
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Action Plan Against Trafficking
Gorkhapatra - Kathmandu, Nepal, December 27, 2006
Human rights activists and social workers have sought a new and strong mechanism and long-term plan of action for checking human trafficking. It has been a serious social problem. Thousand of people, especially girls, are trafficked to other countries every year. The women and girls are trafficked and coerced into commercial sex work.
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With These Negative HIV Results I Thee Wed
Times Online - December 26, 2006
Engaged couples in India may have to take HIV tests before they can marry.
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Reduced Sexually Transmitted Infections in Indian Men
Emaxhealth - USA, December 26, 2006
Research proposal to evaluate sexual identity, sexual behaviors, and disclosure of same-sex behaviors among an Internet-recruited sample of men who have sex with men (MSM) across India.
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Absence of Doctors Affects Safe Abortion Service
Gorkhapatra - Kathmandu, Nepal, December 26, 2006
As the doctor working with the association has quitted the job and another doctor appointed in his place has failed to provide service.
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New Rules to Ban Employer Bias on Age, Sexual Orientation
The China Post - Taipei, Taiwan, December 26, 2006
Legislators completed the first reading of the draft revisions that will ban employer discrimination based on age, birthplace, sexual orientation and other biases outlawed in separate regulations.
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South Koreans Offered Cash for No Sex
BBC News - 26 December, 2006
Male workers who vow to stay away from prostitutes after year-end celebrations in South Korea are to be rewarded.
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Probing U.S. Global AIDS Policy
Council for Foreign Relations - USA, December 26, 2006
Four years after President Bush launched an ambitious plan to address the global HIV/AIDS crisis, the program’s policies will now face ideological scrutiny. PEPFAR's pro-abstinence approach will face Congressional scrutiny in 2007.
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FEATURE-AIDS Epidemic Shifts, Vietnam Makes Policy Change
Reuters Foundation - December 25, 2006
On January 1, a new HIV/AIDS law comes into effect that experts say is a broad policy framework for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in underdeveloped Vietnam.
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Women's Group Calls for Tougher Scrutiny of Matchmaking Agencies
Playfuls.Com - December 25, 2006
The agencies conduct strict checks on the sexual health and virginity of the prospective brides. The Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) found too few questions were asked regarding the marital status, criminal records, physical health and financial status of the eager grooms.
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Poor Record Keeping Plagues Bush AIDS Effort in Developing Countries
International Herald Tribune - Washington, December 25, 2006
President George W. Bush's ambitious AIDS-fighting program in poor countries has pushed so hard for fast results that basic record keeping and accountability often went by the wayside, making it hard to judge the true success, according to government audits and officials.
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China Trains Publicity Officials on HIV/AIDS Reporting
People’s Daily Online - China, December 25, 2006
Provincial publicity officials who gathered for a two-day workshop in Beijing were urged to promote more accurate and balanced HIV/AIDS reporting in their areas and not to neglect the human side of the disease.
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Thai Women in Deadly South Africa Sex Ring
BangkokPost.com - December 24, 2006
Police are investigating the role of fellow officers in an alleged human trafficking case involving 26 Thai women who were arrested in a dramatic raid on Durban's After Dark "gentlemen's club" last weekend, according to South African media reports.
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Media Campaign [in India] to Generate AIDS Awareness
NDTV.Com - December 24, 2006
Under the campaign, popular serials and movies in television will have a 30-second capsule during commercial breaks that would show a HIV positive person talking about his experience and his life.
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Sex Slave Exhibition Exposes Darkness in East Timor
The Japan Times - December 23, 2006
The exhibition combines testimony from survivors and witnesses with photos and other documentary evidence to provide a compelling picture of the various forms of gender-based violence inflicted on women during two particularly black periods in East Timor's history: the 1942-1945 takeover by Japanese troops, and the 24-year occupation by Indonesian forces that ended in 1999.
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15% of Unmarried Youngsters in Indonesia have Sexual Intercourse
Bernama.Com - December 23, 2006
At least 15 per cent of 62 million unmarried youths in Indonesia, aged between 10 to 24, were reported as having had sexual intercourse before marriage, the state media reports Saturday.
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China Unveils Anti-AIDS Education Project for Students
China View - December 23, 2006
China unveiled here Saturday a five-year anti-AIDS education project aimed at providing better sex and AIDS prevention education to 100 million middle school and college students.
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Purva Bedi is Cast as Lead in - When Kiran Met Karen
The Canadian - December 23, 2006
The upcoming film When Kiran Met Karen is about an Indian-American actress in New York who falls in love with her female co-star while shooting a film in which she plays a lesbian.
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Indian State Plans to Make Pre-Marital HIV Testing Mandatory
The Money Times - December 23, 2006
Alarmed by its high rate of HIV infection, India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday announced an unusual plan that makes it mandatory for couples to take a HIV test before marrying.
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Climbing out of the Darkness
The Sydney Morning Herald - December 23, 2006
One of Asia's poorest nations, Cambodia is at the forefront of the battle against the AIDS pandemic.
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More AIDS Counselling Centres Proposed
The Hindu - 23 December, 2006
The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) [of India] has proposed to establish 4,955 Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTC) in the next five years under the third phase of the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). These centres will carry out 21 million AIDS tests a year.
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Far-Fetched to Claim that Yoga can Cure Aids: NACO
Zee News - December 22, 2006
Slamming yoga guru Ramdev for his alleged claims that yoga could cure aids, the National AIDS Control Organisation of India on Friday said these statements "misled the masses".
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Thailand Compulsory License on AIDS Drug Prompts Policy Debate
Intellectual Property Watch - 22 December, 2006
After Thailand issued a compulsory license for government production of an HIV/AIDS drug, the patent holder of the product, Merck Sharp & Dohme, has proposed reducing the price by almost two-thirds, local sources said. But Thailand said it wants to see it in writing.
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Claims of HIV/AIDS Cure
Cybernoon.com - December 22, 2006
About Baba Ramdev’s claim that he can cure HIV/AIDS, Union health minister says: “He is talking rubbish.” A notice has been sent to Ramdev, but that’s all. There are many other bogus characters across the country who also claim have such powers and cheat lakhs of HIV affected ignorant people.
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Pakistan: Quake Offers A Window of Opportunity for Women Empowerment
Reuters - December 22, 2006
In most cultures, menstruation is an extremely private female issue. This posed difficulties for women queuing up publicly to obtain sanitary items from mainly male relief teams, noted the IFRC report.
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Imperialism's Second Front: Bush's Foreign Sex Policy
Counterpunch - December 22, 2006
In 1991, when [Thailand] adopted a "100 percent condom" program, the rate of HIV infection among female sex workers declined from 30 percent in the mid-1990s to less than 10 percent in 2004. However, with its adoption of PEPFAR anti-condom program, as a 2005 World Health Organization report found, new infections are no longer declining as rapidly as they did in the 1990s.
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HIV/AIDS Infected Kids Showcase Talents
The Sangai Express - 22 December, 2006
A special programme under the theme of' Our Hope, Our Future' was organised by Manipur Network of Positive People (MNP+). The programme titled Children Talent Hunt Show, 2006 provided a unique platform to the children affected/infected with HIV/AIDS to showcase their latent talents in various artistic fields like painting, dance, poetry recitation and singing.
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Malaysian Women's Activists to Probe Claims of Exploitation of Vietnamese Brides
Mainichi Daily News - December 19, 2006
Women's rights activists voiced outrage Tuesday over claims that Vietnamese girls were brought to small towns in Malaysia to be paraded before prospective husbands.
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China's Sex Workers
Wall Street Journal - New York, USA
In a display that many commentators have compared to the spectacles of the Cultural Revolution, police in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen paraded some 90 prostitutes through the city's streets in yellow jumpers late last month. As they walked, the police broadcasted the offenders' names and personal details over loudspeakers.
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Eunuchs in Pakistan Want `Third Gender` Identity Cards
Zee News - Noida, India, December 17, 2006
Eunuchs in Pakistan are demanding that the government issue 'third gender' identity cards to them so that they can vote during elections.
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Santhi - Not a Woman- Set to Lose Doha Asiad Silver
Hindustan Times - India, December 17, 2006
According to sources in the IOA say Soundarajan Santhi, who won silver in the women’s 800 metres at the Asian Games, has failed a gender test at Doha. She is set to be stripped of her medal.
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The Land of Small Things
Times of India - India, December 17, 2006
A recent study released by the Indian Council for Medical Research suggested that the penis size of the Indian male may be one or two inches shorter than international standards, caused some commotion.
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On the Edge, Invisible
Tehelka -India, December 16, 2006
The environment of stigma and marginalisation that surrounds sexual minorities only increases their vulnerability to HIV.
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Hypocrisy Harms the Most
Tehelka - India, December 16, 2006
After nearly two decades and massive public information programmes on HIV, the prejudice continues with increasing reports of discrimination: of five HIV-positive children being thrown out of a Kerala school; of a man dying of AIDS at the doorstep of a Mumbai hospital that refused to admit him; of an HIV-positive woman being stoned to death in Andhra Pradesh.
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The Great Indian Double Life
Tehelka - India, December 16, 2006
Twenty years since the first case of HIV was detected in India, does the Indian media accurately reflect its multifaceted dimensions? How effectively have organisations working in the field used the media to change attitudes and behaviours, and advocate for important HIV/AIDS-related issues?
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Social Vaccine' is New Mantra to Fight AIDS
Telugu Portal - Hyderabad, India, December 16, 2006
According to a UN official, in the absence of vaccine against HIV/AIDS, the social vaccine of mass awareness needs to be strengthened to prevent spread of the deadly virus.
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Drug Supply is Our Biggest Problem
Tehelka - India, December 16, 2006
National AIDS Control Organisation Director General K. Sujatha Rao discusses the issues affecting the organisation’s work in tackling the epidemic in the country.
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Indecent Only in Indonesia
Canton Repository - Canton, USA, December 16, 2007
Indonesia - the largest Muslim nation, with more than 245 million people -- is pretty moderate. The press is somewhat free, women wear jeans, and we haven’t declared war on it. Still, when the publication of Playboy first hit the newsstands in April, the Islamic Defenders Front attacked the offices of the editors who produced this ‘moral terrorism’.
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Woman On Top
Delhi Newsline - India, December 14, 2006
Talk of Indian erotica and Kama Sutra emerges as the instant synonym. Innumerable writers from all over the world have interpreted Vatsayana’s giant tome on sex, yet, it seems there’s room for more. On Tuesday, art curator and director of Habitat’s Visual Arts Gallery, Alka Pande, launched her version.
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Prominent Malaysian Transsexual Sees Progress in Societal Acceptance
International Herald Tribune - France, December 12, 2006
Transsexuals are gaining more acceptance in mostly Muslim Malaysia, a well-known transsexual said Tuesday, a little more than a year after she held a high-profile but controversial wedding with an accountant.
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Website Defending Mistresses' Rights Against Legal Spirit
China Daily - China, December 11, 2006
Six months after it began, Zheng Baichun's website, known for defending the rights of er'nai, or mistresses, was deemed against the spirit of marital law by a legal scholar, despite the fact that over 600 unfortunate women have resorted to the website for help.
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HIV/AIDS in South Asia
Financial Express.bd - Bangladesh, December 11, 2006
The latest WHO-UNAIDS report 2006 presents an alarming picture of HIV/AIDS that the different parts of the world.
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Explaining Homosexuality
E-Pao.net - Manipur, India, December 10, 2006
According to the secretary of Maruploi Foundation, Th Surjit, ‘Homosexuals and Nupi Manbi Nupas in Manipuri society are not the same and every Nupi Manbi Nupas are not homosexuals’.
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Human Rights Day Reminds Us of Global Persecution of Gays
Progressive.org - Madison, USA, December 6, 2006
As we commemorate International Human Rights Day this Dec. 10, more work must be done to ensure the dignity and equality of all human beings, including sexual minorities.
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Islamic Clerics in India Join Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Houston Chronicle - United States, December 8, 2006
Public health authorities in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have found an unexpected ally in their battle against HIV/AIDS in the deeply conservative region.
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Japan's Pink Kink
Asia Sentinel - Hong Kong, China, December 8, 2006
Delving into a wide variety of sex venues, Joan Sinclair's photo documentary, ‘The Pink Box: Inside Japan’s Sex Clubs’ reveals aspects of kink that may be new even to seasoned observers. Still, in many ways the book only reinforces the wacky and wild view of Pink Kink.
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Campaign to Raise Awareness on Teenage sexuality Among Malays a Success
Channel News Asia - Singapore, December 7, 2006
A survey was conducted to gauge the effectiveness of a campaign to raise awareness on teenage sexuality among Malay Muslims.
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India's Law on Homosexuality Hinders HIV Prevention: UN
Legalbrief - Durban, South Africa, December 7, 2006
India's law criminalising homosexuality is undermining the fight against HIV/AIDS and violates the human rights of men who have sex with men, Denis Broun, UNAIDS India coordinator.
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Gay Man Accuses Tsinghua of Discrimination
China Daily - China, December 7, 2006
Xiao Tian, a gay man, sparked an uproar in the gay community in the capital after he accused the prestigious Tsinghua University of discriminating against gays.
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Outrage at Chinese Prostitutes' Shame Parade
Guardian Unlimited - Beijing, China, December 6, 2006
A parade of prostitutes and their clients aimed at naming and shaming sex workers in southern China has sparked a backlash by an unusual coalition of lawyers, academics and the All-China Women's Federation.
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Orissa Eunuchs Demand Law Recognizing Third Sex Category
DailyIndia.com - USA, December 6, 2006
Eunuchs in Orissa reiterated their demand for a legislation recognizing third gender category to ensure them political and social rights here on Wednesday.
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Let's Talk About Sex With the Teens
China Daily - China, December 6, 2006
According to statistics released by the Family Planning Research Institute of Chongqing Municipality in Southwest China show teenage abortion cases have jumped to 33.6 per cent in 2004, up from 13 per cent in 1998.
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Prostitutes Must be Whipped
News 24.com - Kuala Lumpur, December 5, 2006
According to a report, Malaysian lawmakers have called for foreign prostitutes to be whipped as a deterrent to others considering coming here to work in the sex industry.
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Chinese Province to Require Couples to Receive HIV Tests Before
Kaiser network.org - Washington DC,USA, December 5, 2006
China's Yunnan Province beginning Jan. 1, 2007, will require couples to receive HIV tests before getting married. People who test positive for the virus will be required to inform their partners or the local authorities will do so.
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Law on Homosexuality Hinders Aids Outreach to the Young, says Activists
TODAYonline - Singapore, December 4, 2006
TO save young lives and remove the biggest stumbling blocks in Singapore's fight against HIV/Aids - stigma and discrimination - the law that criminalises homosexuality must be repealed, said president of Action for Aids Roy Chan.
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Muslim Woman Gives Sex Tips on Arab TV
Times of India - India, December 4, 2006
Heba Kotb is a conservative Muslim, wears an Islamic head scarf, and goes on television once a week to talk - frankly and in great detail about sex.
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Yoni Ki Baat Spotlights Desi Diaspora Women's Sexuality
INDOlink - San Ramon, USA, December 4, 2006
Three years after its first tentative foray into the flourishing progressive scene in the Bay Area, ‘Yoni Ki Baat’ - a play in which Desi women publicly recount their feelings about their private parts is once again being organized and produced by the California-based South Asian Sisters collective.
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AIDS Awareness Campaigns Show Results
Pune Newsline - Pune, India, December 3, 2006
The joint UN programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, may have, in a report, declared that 49 per cent of sex workers in the city were infected with HIV, but according to Pune based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that work in red light areas, the number of prostitutes infected by the virus has, in fact, gone down.
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Disrespecting AIDS
Bangkok Post -Thailand, December 2, 2006
Throughout Thailand's South, the risk of HIV transmission among normal young people doesn't quite get the attention it deserves, reports Erika Fry.
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Teachers Awarded for Role in AIDS Awareness
Hindustan Times - India, December 2, 2006
On the occasion of World AIDS Day, 25 teachers from 10 states of India were felicitated for imparting knowledge on HIV/AIDS amongst young school students.
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China's Worst AIDS-Hit Province Orders Compulsory Pre-Marital HIV Tests
People's Daily Online - Beijing, China, December 2, 2006
A province in southwest China is to make residents take compulsory HIV tests before marriage and will inform prospective spouses of the results starting next month.
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Mental Agony Stalks Gay Men: Study
The Times of India - December 23, 2006
A recent study conducted by a post graduate student in the department of psychiatry at Government Medical College (GMC), Surat, India, indicates that as many as 72 per cent of homosexual men in Surat want to shun their sexual preference. A large number of them are grappling with depression and mental agony.
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Study Finds Alarming Sexual Violence in Jammu & Kashmir
Hindustan Times - December 23, 2006
Kashmir has the highest percentage 11.6 of sexual violence in comparison to other conflict areas across the globe, a sample survey by an international humanitarian organisation, Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF), has revealed in its latest report.
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Actor Rupert Everett Says Speaking Out is Important in the Battle Against AIDS
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai, India, December 1, 2006
Everett said that his trip was about sending out the right message to combat the AIDS problem in India. Everett also addressed the issue of the existing archaic laws on homosexuality in India.
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Young People With HIV/AIDS in Bangkok Highest in Thailand, on the Rise
Thai News Agency MCOT - Bangkok, Thailand, December 1, 2006
Thailand's disease control department revealed on World AIDS Day Friday that the number of young people with AIDS in Bangkok is the highest in the country.
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Gays in China Urged to Use Condoms Regularly
MedIndia - India, December 1, 2006
The usage of condoms among the gay population will be promoted significantly in China, from next year.
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Asian Nations Fight Stigma Attached to AIDS
Zee News - Noida, India, December 1, 2006
In Thailand, AIDS activists planned to create the world's largest "condom chain." In Papua New Guinea, officials took blood tests to encourage voluntary HIV/AIDS testing.
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Asian Nations Fight Stigma Attached to AIDS
Zee News - Noida, India, December 1, 2006
In Thailand, aids activists planned to create the world's largest "condom chain." In Papua New Guinea, officials took blood tests to encourage voluntary HIV/AIDS testing.
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Health Authorities Rope in Islamic Clerics in Battle Against HIV/AIDS in India’s Kashmir
International Herald Tribune - France, December 1, 2006
Public health authorities in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have found an unexpected ally in their battle against HIV/AIDS in the deeply conservative region.
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