When someone as big and famous as Charlie Sheen comes out in the open and reveals his HIV status, it becomes a trending piece of news, while someone who is not so well-known attempts to talk about it, it becomes a different story altogether.
Despite breathing in the 21st century, AIDS and HIV are subjects which are taboo and treated with disgust. There is an underlying stigma, a certain nervousness and discomfort associated with it, making it a dense and complicated subject to touch upon.
What we need to understand as a society is HIV is nothing but a virus which can affect anyone, and make anyone sick. They are not happy dying from it. And we need to treat as any other disease like cancer or mental health disorder. A person’s health condition should not define our behaviour towards them. We need to stand united.
Despite several campaigns and Bollywood movies (read Phir Milenge and My Brother Nikhil) on raising awareness and educating about AIDS or the global spread of HIV virus, not much has happened on how people react, judge or discriminate against a person inflicted with the HIV virus or suffering from AIDS.
On World Aids Day, Sharman Joshi, Karan Singh Grover and Zareen Khan of Hate Story 3 shared a strong individual message about HIV and AIDS and people suffering from it, and why it is time for a revolution.
“Let’s bring HIV out of the closet.”
“HIV is a virus. It has no class, identity, race, gender or sexuality…”
“No more shame, no more stigma.”
All Video Courtesy: Funky Flunky
This World Aids Day, let’s take a pledge, let’s #RethinkHIV and change lives.