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Ending Unfair Discrimination

 

Ishshara Tamata (name changed) is a Dalit woman living in Belapur VDC, ward no. 5 in Dadeldhura district. She is working hard to raise her three children after her husband died of HIV AIDS. Fortunately, she and her children have not been infected. But because her villagers did not know enough about the disease, she had to face a lot of discrimination. \'They thought that since my husband died of AIDS, I was also infected\', she said.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
She was not allowed to fill water from the village well.
Under the facilitation of \'Surakshit Paaila Project\' of Nepal Rashtriya Dalit Samaj Kalyan Sangh, a community support group was formed in the village. Ishshara also joined the group as HIV affected. She told the group of her problem. After hearing her problem, the group decided to organize an awareness campaign.
 
 
 
 
 
 
In the campaign the members of the group started giving information HIV AIDS to all people. They presented evidence of Ishshara and her children not being infected. They made the people understand that it was not necessary that a wife and her children had to be affected by the disease if the father was infected. The villagers understood this. Then they stopped discriminating her.
'We now drink water from the same well. We sit together. Nobody hesitates. The people of my village have been transformed. I want to thank all my friends in the community support group", she said.