“The school and the society at large have decided to label pupils’
uniforms.”
When contacted by The Daily Telegraph for comment after the row broke, he
declined to comment, saying it was a matter for the district’s Director of
Education.
Msafiri Thomas was leading an HIV/Aids community awareness scheme in the area
when the practice of putting ribbon on pupils emerged in a focus group.
“It was raised by parents, teachers and school leavers and seems to have
been happening for some time,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “The
general feeling was that it wasn’t a good thing because life is hard enough
for students living with HIV without making life harder for them at school.
“Students wearing these ribbons are sometimes shunned by other pupils who
don’t want to share or be near them because they fear they will be infected.
There must be another well to help these children.” Rebecca Mshumbusi,
chairperson of the Kibaha Association of People Living with HIV/Aids, said
that forcing children to reveal their status was not only unethical but
illegal.
In 2008, a law was passed which makes it illegal to discriminate against
someone with HIV or Aids, or to reveal another’s status.
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