I hid my disease from my children until I thought they were old enough to handle the news. They were furious at first because they feared they would be stigmatized because of my condition, since AIDS is considered to bring shame to a family. They were also afraid that they could contract the disease from me. But, they settled down after we talked about it,” she says.
Jamila’s 13-year-old son, Muhammad Waqar, is an eighth grade student at a high school for boys, while her 15-year-old daughter, Sonia, is a tenth grade student at a high school for girls. Fortunately neither one is infected with HIV/AIDS. Zahir was infected by a syringe when working as a doctor at a local city hospital. When he became ill, his brother took him to the hospital, where he tested positively for AIDS. While Zahir’s siblings and relatives were informed of his condition, Jamila was not. Sadly, Zahir died just two months later.
Since then, Jamila’s life has continued to change for the worse. “My in-laws do not treat me well and don’t allow me to do work around the house because they think I will transmit this disease to them. But I want to work,” says Jamila.
“When my children get sick, I cannot take them to the hospital for treatment because I have no source of income. My mother, brother and sisters pay for what they can of my children’s medical treatments,” says Jamila.
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