Delhi's First Time

[IRMA shares this notice from the organizers of the first-ever Queer Pride in New Delhi, India. Our work as rectal microbicide advocates, after all, must be grounded in advancing the human rights we all share... to be who we are, wherever we are. Love to Delhi!]

Delhi Queer Pride '08

This June, for the first time, Queer Pride celebrations will erupt on the streets of Delhi, alongside simultaneous marches in Kolkata and Bangalore!

Queer Pride is a celebration. It is about loving who we are, whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, hijra or straight, and affirming everyone's right to be respected for their own sexual choices.This year, queer people, friends, and allies take this message to the streets!

5:30pm Regal Cinema, CP Sunday, June 29th

We'll gather at Regal Cinema on the CP Outer Circle, then parade our pride along the Inner Circle, through Central Park, down Janpath and right to Jantar Mantar, where we will have celebrating, singing, speeches and a candlelight vigil.

**If you want to be out on the street and yet under cover, we will provide masks to cover your face, or bring something along yourself. Nevertheless, please remember this is a public event.**

The Future of Sex from New Delhi to Chicago - NEXT WEEK

Direct from Delhi - Microbicides 2008 Comes to Sweet Home Chicago

RSVP - it's FREE.

NEXT WEEK
Wednesday June 25, 2008
6:00-8:00 p.m.

University Center
525 S. State Street
Chicago

Please join the Chicago Women and Girls HIV Prevention Coalition and the International Rectal Microbicide Advocates for this exclusive update from across the globe on the current developments in microbicide research and advocacy - direct from the Microbicides 2008 conference held in New Delhi, India.

Plus be the first to here about the new International Partnership for Microbicides trial that is going to be taking place in Chicago.

Microbicides are products currently in development that a person could use to reduce her or his risk from infection of HIV and other STDs.

RSVP - it's FREE.

This dynamic event will feature microbicide advocacy leaders:

Latifa Boyce
Alliance for Microbicide Development

Dázon Dixon Diallo
SisterLove, Inc.

Jim Pickett
International Rectal Microbicide Advocates
AIDS Foundation of Chicago

You oughta be in pictures ---- IRMA-Lagos is ready for their closeup

Kadiri Audu transmitted these photos from the recent HIV/AIDS advocacy event he and IRMA-Lagos participated in with the Otumara Concerned Barbers.

Read his post on the event.

You guys ROCK!

Sex trade thrives in Afghanistan

She does not know what a condom is.
She has not heard of AIDS.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The girl was 11 when she was molested by a man with no legs. The man paid her $5. And that was how she started selling sex.

Afghanistan is one of the world's most conservative countries, yet its sex trade appears to be thriving. Sex is sold most obviously at brothels full of women from China who serve both Afghans and foreigners. Far more controversial are Afghan prostitutes, who stay underground in a society that pretends they don't exist.

Customs meant to keep women "pure" have not stopped prostitution. Girls are expected to remain virgins until their wedding nights, so some prostitutes have only anal sex.

Read the rest.

Taking IRMA and AIDS Advocacy to the Grassroots in Lagos

"The joy we derive is the fact
that we are touching lives
by giving life changing information to the
less privileged people in the society."

by Kadiri Audu
[pictured front center with IRMA members at the M2008 conference]

IRMA-Lagos has been doing a lot recently. On the 29 of May, Nigeria's Democracy Day, we partnered with a group of young barbers, Otumara Concerned Barbers (OCB), and Lagos Mainland Youth Forum to organise an HIV/AIDS awareness creation. The theme was TAKING HIV/AIDS INFORMATION TO THE GRASSROOTS.

Topics covered included - basic facts about HIV/AIDS, facts and current issues on microbicides and rectal microbicides, proper condom usage and stigmatization. Facilitators were drawn from the National Youth Network on HIV/AIDS, IRMA-Lagos, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, and Other experts in the field of HIV/AIDS.

Also in attendance were the community head of Otumara village in Mainland LGA, the venue of the event, the youth reps from Mainland LGA and other invited dignitaries. It was an educative and interactive programme as many were satisfied with the information they got, this was evident from the various questions that were asked and satisfactory answers they received.

We are still working on the video editing, we will send the videos and pictures as soon as they are ready. The programme was a self-sponsored programme. Getting funding for such projects is really a challenge we are facing, we would have sent the videos and pictures if not for financial constraint. But we are not allowing that to affect our advocacy work because we have committed members who are always ready to contribute their money and time to the work we are doing, most of them don't work while the few of us that have a meager paying job still do our best to keep the work going.

The joy we derive is the fact that we are touching lives by giving life changing information to the less privileged people in the society, like the venue of our last event, it is a slum where people do not have access to adequate information, and you will agree with me that if one is not informed that fellow is deformed and can not perform, that is "IF YOU ARE NOT INFORMED YOU ARE DEFORMED AND YOU CAN NOT PERFORM" This was one of the messages on that day.

I will keep you informed of our activities as we go on.

Yours in service,

Kadiri Audu
IRMA-Lagos

Read more from Kadiri here.
Read his bio here, in IRMA's "Meet a Friendly Microbicide Advocate" section of our website.