Ta’ayosh, the Coexistence campaign, is working to erase the negative social stigma around patients of AIDS. They also aim to mitigate discrimination patients face from health providers due to misconceptions they have towards the virus and its transmission. The campaign works to raise the public awareness of HIV virus.
Alumni Create Play Highlighting AIDS Patient Stories
A group of alumni of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, CIHRS, met with a number of AIDS patients. They organized an intensive workshop and interviews with the patients to gather as much information as possible about their stories. They also adapted stories from the book, “Letters from Egypt.” The book was put together by the Egyptian forums against discrimination and shaming. They transformed patient stories into common language to fit the theatrical narrative.
After collecting information, the graduates of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies produced a play, “Disease is Not a Crime.” They presented ten true stories of people living with AIDS. The play shows the hardship, challenges, and discrimination AIDS patients face daily by the service providers and society. In an effort to raise awareness of HIV, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies produced a short video to promote the campaign’s goals.
A “teaser” for the play that was produced is available (in Arabic only):
Breaking down stigmas and transforming misconceptions can be a difficult undertaking. The Cairo Institute educated the public in a captivating and emotional way. By using a form of entertainment, such as theater and videos, they were able to grab people’s attention with the emotional narrative. They raised awareness of the issue, broke down commonly held misconceptions, and gave a voice to the silenced. A vital component to this tactic is its ability to share personal experiences while keeping the identities of the victims completely anonymous. This is essential to ensuring their protection from further discrimination or retaliation. The protection of the victims must always take precedence to the story. To be more effective, this awareness raising tactic could be paired with another tactic that promotes anti-discriminatory practices over a long-term period.
New Tactics in Human Rights does not advocate for or endorse specific tactics, policies or issues.
