TITLE: The Path of a Rights Activist
BY: China Alliance of People Living with HIV/AIDS
In their recent newsletter, the China Alliance of People living with HIV/AIDS (CAP+) announced publication of a unique testimony report about the work of one of their members, Ms. Ma Guihong, who heads the organization Half the Sky in China’s Hebei Province. With the permission of Ms. Ma and CAP+, we are re-posting the below summary with links to the original Chinese and English full text.
FULL TEXT:
Ms. Ma Guihong, a native of Yongqing County,Langfang City, in Hebei Province, is the head coordinator for Half the Sky, a small group of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). She is also on the board of directors for the China Alliance of People. Living with HIV/AIDS (CAP+), a member of the working committee for the Global Fund’s Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), as well as a member of the Global Fund’s HIV/AIDS Program’s Hebei Province-based advisory group.
Ms. Ma Guihong only has a second grade education and is a rural villager (nongmin). She and her husband both were infected with HIV after commercial blood donation. When she discovered that she was HIV-positive in 2004, she struggled for a time with her fear, but overcame it by turning towards rights activism and gaining rights consciousness, eventually becoming the leader of a group of over 100 PLWHA from rural villages in Yongqing County. Through hard work and perseverance, she has led her group to advocate for policy changes that have improved the lives for local AIDS patients in her area.
Ms. Ma’s own group, Half the Sky, is focused on providing support to a community of rural women who are HIV-positive. Although they have embraced rights consciousness and activism, it has not been an easy road: they must reconcile their individual needs with the community’s mobilization, while coming to better understandings of what rights protections entail. There is a steep learning curve: they are also learning about legal regulations and policies, how to protect legal rights, boycotts, how to negotiate with government officials, and many other skills. Through this process, they are developing valuable experience and skills. We have organized the transcript from her oral testimony below.
Meng Lin, Li Hu, Mu Rongfeng were responsible for conducting the interview and obtaining the oral testimony, and they also provided additional materials, assisted with editing. This piece is the result of a cooperative effort.
To continue reading the full piece in Chinese, please go to the CAP+ website here. You can download the full text in English here.
China Alliance of People Living with HIV/AIDS (CAP+) is a non-profit information exchange and activity network. Since it was founded in Beijing in November 2006, CAP+ has played a unique role in China’s work in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and support. By establishing connections and promoting cooperation between people living with HIV/AIDS and the organizations that support them, we aim to help those living with HIV/AIDS improve their living standards and their quality of life.
