Kamal to be ambassador for rights of HIV infected

Chennai, Nov 29 (UNI) Actor Kamal Hassan will be the ambassador for a new campaign, launched here today by United Nations and Tamil Nadu State Aids Control Society (TNSACS) to protect the rights of people living with HIV.

Kamal, known for his prowess of wielding the megaphone and writing scripts, besides singing, has written a pledge in English and Tamil for the multi media campaign.

The pledge has been titled ''This I Promise'' in English and ''Ini Oru Vithi Seyvom'' in Tamil. ''We are launching the campaign here as women would be an important part of this campaign,'' the mercurial film hero said addressing an overflowing gathering of students in a well known women's college, here.

The people living with HIV/AIDS were often subjected to discrimination and stigmatisation permeating every aspect of life like employment, medical treatment, care and custody of children and other social relationships, UN Team Coordinator Pieter Bult, TANSACS Project Director Supriya Sahu and Kamal said.

The essence of the campaign, the majority of which would be in Tamil, was a promise to uphold the rights of people living with HIV.

''People living with HIV have the same rights as I do: to live, to grow, to dream and be part of world. I promise to uphold their rights and give them strength.....,'' Kamal said.

Padmavathy, a HIV postive woman who is also the president of 'HIV positive'' women's association, narrated the rights abuses she had gone through after being diagnosed as HIV positive, soon after her marriage to a HIV positive man.

UNI