HIV+
women compete in Botswana’s Miss Stigma Free beauty pageant
 GABORONE,
Botswana - A dozen HIV-positive women donned flowing evening
gowns and glittering jewellery to compete in a beauty pageant
aimed at fighting the stigma that still surrounds the deadly
virus in this AIDS-ravaged southern African country.
Botswana
has one of the world’s highest rates of HIV infection, with
about 37 percent of its 1.7 million population testing positive
for the virus that causes AIDS.
Organizers
of the Miss Stigma Free pageant hope the contest on Saturday -
now in its third year - will show the disease does not prevent
women from being beautiful and living positively.
Cynthia
Leshomo, a 22-year-old AIDS counselor in a floral gown, was
crowed the winner to loud applause from the crowd of about 500.
“I
am going to urge our government to involve us HIV-positive
people in work on HIV/AIDS, especially in hospitals, because ...
we know how it is to live with HIV/AIDS,” she said. Her prizes
include cash, an academic scholarship, beauty treatments and a
computer.
Judy
Peacock, Miss Botswana 2004, helped the contestants prepare for
Saturday’s pageant by coaching them in how to answer judges’
questions about AIDS and walk down the runway with poise.
Positive
outlook
The
women, aged 18-35, were making an important statement by
participating, Peacock said.
“They
are telling the world: ’We accept our condition, and we want
to live positively with the virus,”’ she said.
The
contest, organized by the Center for Youth of Hope AIDS support
group, was held at Gaborone International Convention Center and
broadcast on national television.
Diamond-rich
Botswana has been aggressive in fighting the pandemic, launching
the African continent’s first program to provide
life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs through the public health
system in 2002. Some 34,500 people are now receiving treatment
here, according to government figures.
But
fear and discrimination persist, preventing many citizens from
coming forward to be tested for HIV.
Another
contestant, Neo Sampoela, an unmarried mother of four who was
diagnosed with HIV in 1994, said she wanted to help break the
silence about the virus.
“It
is possible to live long with HIV/AIDS,” she said. “I do not
want people to give up because of HIV/AIDS.”
AP
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