On the occasion of World AIDS Day 2021, two women share their life's journey in fighting against all odds to overcome the deadly disease of HIV.

Hinaben Modi and Alka (name changed) share their stories of fighting not only the stigma, but also seeking a better future for themselves.

There are around 74,000 such HIV positive persons in Gujarat, fighting against all odds, even in the times of COVID-19.

In 2006, she was detected as HIV positive, having contracted it from her husband.

Hinaben's husband was a diamond worker in Vadnagar, but due to his ailing condition, she was forced to do house chores in other people's homes.

"After it was revealed that I was HIV positive, people started reacting strangely, although they didn't outright reject me or stop my work, but I felt it. I was determined to not only fight it out but also reveal my status to others. I never wanted to hide that I was HIV positive," she told IANS.

Over the years, she has successfully done that, giving both the children a good life with good education.

Today her daughter has completed her graduation and got a job in a civil hospital and her son is doing MCom.

She participates in most of the AIDS and HIV awareness programmes carried out by the district Gujarat State Network of People living with AIDS/HIV (GSNP+).

"I am not afraid of anything and as I have not done anything wrong, I don't feel ashamed or shy of telling people that I am HIV positive. I want to tell people, what happened with me, may God not let it happen to others," she says.

Similar to Hinaben, Alka (name changed), too, felt her life shattered when she was diagnosed with HIV positive in 2011.

Alka then started working with the GSNP+ organisation and since then has been associated with it. But her life has also been at odds as through this work she came in contact with another HIV positive and married him.

But that bonding also didn't last long as the man turned out to be addicted to narcotics and drugs.

"Life has ups and downs, but we have to fight. We cannot just go on crying alone in a corner and blame destiny," she added.

Like Hinaben and Alka, there are around 74,000 HIV positive persons in Gujarat, who are fighting against not only their physical condition, but also against the society.

According to sources, India has the third largest HIV epidemic in the world. In 2017, HIV prevalence among the age group of 15-49 years was an estimated 0.2 per cent.

Even though this figure might seem to be small compared to most other middle-income countries, because of the huge population of 1.3 billion people, this equates to 2.1 million people living with HIV.

Nearly 80 per cent of people living with HIV are aware of their status and most of them are on antiretroviral treatment (ART).

The proportion of people on ART, who are virally suppressed is not reported. India's HIV epidemic is driven by sexual transmission.

According to reports, there were 5,000 deaths of people living with HIV in the past decade due to the virus in Gujarat.

(This story was published from a syndicated feed. Only the headline and picture has been edited by FIT)