No television..

Well, in the Netherlands, the Dutch constitution provides, art. 20, if I remember corrrectly,

in Poland, you, have cable, satelite, but,
it's a rat race, no parachute, just family,

Here's what, I would love, to see, distance learning, great stuff, Open university online, equal chances, and all,

Butta..you still you need a internet connection,
shouldn't that be a social human right..

Sue your goverment,
With Passion,

did you know, in the Netherlands, everybody can get a certified, official phd? free for all?
http://www.ou.nl/

Otherwise the faculty has a budget..

Seriously,
In Poland to get to, ooh, don't get me started,
about, that!

curious, how the EU will deal with that,

Love, Passion

What you write about empowering women is so true.. and like everyhing else in India should be done both at the macro and micro level.
Overcoming cultural inhibitions is the hardest and has to be done very slowly.
I guess there is no one model but many options but they all need civil society to understand its responsibility and not look away.
Government programmes though good per se often never really reach the true beneficiary.
What we try and do is pass messages each time a real life situation arises like in this case
http://projectwhy.blogspot.com/2007/02/more-on-manojs-mom.html
and then take up the issues that have been raised..
It is long haul but at least a step in the right direction,

Hi Mallika

Ask editors on this blog to write a great script where top actors of Indian film industry teach ABCD... and A for Apple, B for Ball etc.

Ask Shekhar Kapur to Direct above movies, with Actors like Amitabh Bacchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Hritik Roshah.

This movies should teach reading and writing to people.

The money which goes behind advertising AIDS campaign should also be used to direct a TV serial like KBC "Kaun Banega Crorepati" where big famous starts like Big B, Ash, King Khan should should play a role of teacher and teach english and other languages and Science and Mathematics along with giving advertisements for AIDS or Watches or Cars or Computers etc.

Rajesh Sharma

Hi Mallika,

There are some medical experts of their own field who believe that AIDS stunt is being spread by medical fraternity.

They think that it is being advertised so that poeple become afraid and take tests and buy medicines etc. and let the big corporates earn big money.

Rajesh Sharma

Hi Mallika,

"How does a society overcome it's cultural inhibitions to create awareness, enhance discusion, empower action?"

I think it's called courage. I was listening to a reporter on radio yesterday, interviewing a pharmacist in India. He said that they do indeed sell condoms, but never ever EVER to women, students or to unmarried people. These groups of people would never show up to buy one. Hmmm...

It takes courage to affirm the obvious truths when a whole society is living in an illusion. But then... why be afraid???

I have worked in a similar situation in Romania years ago, coming with a Swedish delegation right after the fall of the dictatorship. We were red cross workers, but surprisingly, there was no way around it- we had to organize sexual education first. Nothing worked- our efforts in the orphanages, in the mental hospices, in the hospitals, in the political headquarters, in schools... without the simple ground of sexuality being mapped out and brought out into the light. That society was built on an as big a lie as the Indian one seems to be clinging to.

But what happened was quite amazing: as soon as we started with the classes, it was like a dam broke... EVERYONE in the towns and villages around our base was eager to participate, to show how modern and illuminated they were, to say those anatomical and technical words out loud with an air of (clumsy) naturalness... especially young women. Sometimes they got really angry, as soon as some inevitable sex joke popped up. Sometimes they blushed when they met inner resistance, but they never gave up. It somehow became fashionable to talk openly about these things, and even the older generation did actually listen and wonder...

We had to do this, as the orphanages we were working in were packed with abandoned children with AIDS, abandoned by mothers who were sick themselves, and who "didn't exist" in that society, as they were neither married nor had a disease that the population had ever heard about... Many times, in desperation, they had tried to do an abortion by themselves or take their own lives, so the children were in an unimaginable shape. And there was no help from the government, as these children didn't exist...

Looking at the situation in India... "How can a society take responsibility to ensure awareness and education spread?" We need to realize that this blurry entity we call "society" is made of individuals. Every individual who has seen the lie and its consequences needs to find the courage to express out loud what they see.

Yes, getting past all the taboos is a big challenge. People dopn't want to be stigmayized. They don't want other s to know, and they don't thier family stigmatized, and so on.

The denial runs deep. I have played on African AIDS awareness benefits with musicians from West African countries who to this day refuse to acknowledge that anyone in their country has AIDS. As astounding as that sounds its true.

Once after a prominent musician had died I sent a message out of commemoration and was immediately chastised by the musician's producer and sternly told that I should never ever mention to anyone the true cause of his death.

This denial has, in my opinion, become one of the leading causes of the spread of the disease.

Hats off to anyone who can find ways to pierce that veil!

Dear Mallika; I had no idea, the high rate of aides in India!! I was taken aback, really.

Since the beginning of humankind; leaders were born/raised to lead. Some were good, some were not. Same stands today.

To me, poverty is a government neglect, and abuse.

In days of old, and even presently in many parts of the impoverished world; the rich and powerful, abuse the many poor.

In this slavery of human beings; they are kept uneducated and ignorant of rights and freedoms, which pertain to them.

Seems to me, it is about time, that the high profile celebrities from India; making a profit in India; use their fame, to bring aides education to the front!

They say the prophecy of doom, for humans on earth, will not only be the new big bang, from combined nukes, bringing us closer and closer to the sun with each blast and shift of its earthly axis.... well, they say our downfall will be disease. I wonder if its aides, as its proportioned itself around the world; and has become a plague to humans.

Deploying non-vizible germs and bacteria into the air, water, food... is just real insane.

Let us "NOT FORGET" the aides virus; was linked to an inoculation given to pretty much all of Africa for a few years consecutively. then, one day.. oh dear.. there is a new virus, gay people made?

dear god.. they KNOW what they do; so let us educate those whom do not!

When I was in India, I noticed more slogans on billboards, buses,taxis, you name it. T remember one in particular for family planning:

" We two, ours one"

It seems that in India, people go out to receive messages from society or the culture.

I think the message that every human is precious and made in God's image and must be educated and protected from diseases like AIDS and a hundred other illnesses must be taught. And like Yogi says get beyond the stigmas, that kills many.

Honor and pride should not supercede death to a child from AIDS.

You want transformation and intent, how about valuing the individual above stigma.

Their are models of success in fighting AIDS in Africa, why not bring those models to India and begin some pilot programs and grow from there.

I hope the Indian Govt. takes AIDS seriously.

Steve

When a culture values the next life or escape from the wheels of birth and death more than making the most in the present as if it was the one and only lifetime to live, then a sort of fatalism takes over.

I remember staying in a hotel in Bangkok and reading the brochures about the city , sights to see etc, and something really stood out, a discussion about prostitutes. The brochure said that most prostitutes are Buddhist(not a surprise in Thailand) and to them it's their accepted fate to be in this trade based on their beliefs.

The incidence of AIDS in Thailand is probably greater than India.

thanku for helping me hope you will help me with my work to. thanku again

my question is what was the role of pharmacist in past relating to aids? what condition was it ?

thanku 4 helping me.
i would need ur help so plz help me out with pharmacist role in present past future in aids.