FANATICISM VS AIDS

 
Published: Sunday 31 January 1999

AIDS campaigners in Pakistan fear their struggle to educate fellow country people about the deadly disease faces new difficulties from radical clerics, now that the country moving towards "Islamisation". Even now, it is difficult to spread awareness about AIDS and the situation may worsen as mullahs (clergy) get more influential, said Tahira Khan, one of the campaigners. An Islamic leader recently made a statement saying that "use of condoms was against Islam and AIDS is a western disease". Another campaigner said she was threatened by local clerics when she distributed illustrated literature on AIDS to people her neighbourhood

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