Breakthrough to launch a Campaign HIV/AIDS

Televisionpoint.com Team
Breakthrough, an international human rights organization, is launching a 360 degree media campaign, "What Kind of Man Are You?" to bring public attention to the growing number of married women in India infected by HIV/AIDS.

The campaign has been created by Prasoon Joshi of McCann Erickson and also includes the efforts of key figures like Mandira Bedi, Samir Soni, Arjun Chandramohan Bali, Sujit Sircar and many others.

While a lot of effort has gone into spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS among high-risk categories like commercial sex workers, very little has been done to sensitize women in the general public who are vulnerable to the infection from their husbands.

According to Prasoon Joshi, Creative Director - South and Southeast Asia, McCann Erickson, "Creating a campaign on women and HIV/AIDS was a real challenge and I tried to understand what a woman would say to her husband in a complex situation like this. This is the first time that a campaign encourages married couples to get involved in dialogue on gender relations and HIV/AIDS."

"What Kind of Man Are You?" is a 360 degree integrated communications campaign which encourages dialogue on HIV/AIDS among married couples in seven languages: Bengali, Hindi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi. The campaign also includes a music video to the song Maati from Breakthrough's album Mann ke Manjeere (EMI-Virgin) sung by Shubha Mudgal, written by Prasoon Joshi and composed by Shantanu Moitra. The video features Mandira Bedi and Samir Soni and has been directed by Arjun Chandramohan Bali of Red Ice Films.

An unprecedented collaboration between Breakthrough and several media outlets will ensure wide dissemination in all languages. Media partners include STAR, SUN, ETV, NDTV, Dainik Bhaskar, INOX, Radio Mirchi and others.

Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Mallika Dutt, Executive Director of Breakthrough, said, "What Kind of Man Are You? is path-breaking because it encourages more equal relationships between men and women to prevent the further spread of HIV/AIDS. Breakthrough hopes to spark a public dialogue about difficult but necessary issues like fidelity, protection from HIV/AIDS and communication within marriage. We all need to understand that this is a serious health and human rights issue."

According to the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), India currently has an estimated 51 lakh people infected with HIV/AIDS of which 19 lakh are women. While popular perception might lead one to believe that most of these women are commercial sex workers, official numbers indicate that sex workers constitute about one lakh of the total female infections. Hence the reality is that the majority of women with HIV/AIDS in India have been infected by a husband or primary male partner!

Mandira Bedi, who plays the protagonist in the music video said, "My role In Maati portrays the feelings of betrayal and sorrow that a young mother-to-be would face when she learns she has been infected with HIV by her husband. I hope this campaign will empower women to discuss sexuality and their relationships with male partners."

"The video focuses on a marital relationship, where I play the husband who thinks he cannot possibly be infected with HIV," said Samir Soni, the lead actor in the Maati video.

"Most people think it can never happen to them and take unnecessary risks. I hope the campaign helps people to talk about these issues because unless men wear condoms, even with their own wives, HIV/AIDS will continue to spread." added Soni.

Barely 5% of Indian women have comprehensive knowledge about ways of preventing HIV/AIDS. Women are often not in a social or economic position to insist on fidelity in marriage and relationships, demand condom use, or refuse sex to a partner who may pose a risk to their sexual health.