JEDDAH, 3 December 2007 — With the commemoration of World AIDS Day this week, there has been much emphasis on measures being taken to halt this deadly disease. Recently it was announced that Saudi Arabia is preparing a National AIDS Program to protect the rights of those infected with the virus. While this is a worthy undertaking, such a program must protect the rights of society as a whole.
In the Kingdom, women are frequently victims of the disease — and not simply in terms of infection. Umm Saeed, not her real name, is a woman intimately familiar with the situation in regards to AIDS in Saudi Arabia. More than a decade ago, her husband began to show severe flu-like symptoms after returning from a foreign trip. Doctors took weeks to diagnose the illness. After a blood test they found that he was infected with HIV — the virus that eventually destroys the body’s immune system, leading to AIDS.
“I was lucky. My husband was diagnosed within eight weeks of becoming infected,” Umm Saeed said. “I was only told about his condition because a doctor broke patient confidentiality and advised me of the situation.”
Doctors immediately performed a blood test which showed that Umm Saeed did not have HIV antibodies. But more blood tests followed over a period of months as the physicians waited for her to seroconvert, which means to test positive for HIV. After a year, they gave her a clean bill of health.
“I was assigned to a psychiatrist to help me through that terrible year. I couldn’t share my situation with friends or family due to the stigma about the disease,” said Umm Saeed. “My husband, Abu Saeed, didn’t confess for months about how he was exposed to the virus and he never apologized to me. The doctors who dealt with him only considered his rights and needs.”
Four years after her husband was infected, an official of the Ministry of Health insisted to see Umm Saeed. He advised her that she could have a divorce. However, she would not be guaranteed custody of her child and she would have no support.
“If I took the divorce, I would simply be put out of my home. This was unacceptable,” Umm Saeed said. “So they made me sign a paper that if I became infected with the virus, I had been informed of my rights and my illness would not be the ministry’s fault.”
Abu Saeed was put on medication which controlled the virus. But he was often angry at his situation. Life for his wife was difficult. He still traveled abroad and protecting others from HIV exposure was not a consideration.
“He wasn’t worried about preventing the spread of the virus. He became infected with herpes and would kiss people in greeting with open sores on his lips. When he had dental surgery, it was without the dentist knowing about the HIV infection,” said Umm Saeed. “It is a serious concern for me when I see that clinics and hospitals are lax in using ‘universal precautions’ to protect their staff and other patents from the spread of infectious diseases. Barber shops and ladies salons are also too often unhygienic and can be vectors for the spread of deadly diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV). Actually Hepatitis B is more easily transmitted than HIV.”
Universal precautions involve the use of protective barriers such as gloves and gowns to protect health care workers. Surfaces and instruments must also be sterilized or cleaned after every patient or client with a disinfectant such as chlorine bleach. There are also retractable needle syringes which prevent needle stick injuries to health care workers.
Thirteen years after he was infected with HIV, Abu Saeed is very much alive. Due to better drugs and excellent medical care provided by his Saudi employer, despite the HIV infection he holds down a high-paying job and has a good quality of life. Some years ago, he divorced Umm Saeed to marry another woman who agreed to lead a normal married life with him. A widowed and divorced woman with children to support, this mother was someone who would risk her life in exchange for food on the table.
It might seem unbelievable that a woman would risk contracting HIV for a child, but Selwa is another woman who has considered just such a risk. Her husband tested HIV positive after they had been married for four months. She tested negative. He is already in the advanced phase of the disease suffering from Kaposi’s Sarcoma, a form of cancer associated with AIDS.
“He had the purple blotches on his skin when we were married. A dermatologist told us that this was because of AIDS,” said Selwa. “My husband is taking many medications to control the disease but our biggest problem now is that we can’t have a baby and our families are pressuring us.”
Selwa’s husband refuses to explain to either family the reason why after three years of marriage his wife is still not pregnant. Consequently, everyone believes it is Selwa who is infertile. Selwa loves her husband and would like to have a baby but doctors have repeatedly advised her on the risks involved, even with special fertility treatments, and that her husband’s medical condition is grave.
New rules coming into force which require Saudis to be tested for HIV before marriage may help individuals avoid the misery suffered by Selwa. But unless there is an understanding in Saudi society of the risks of certain behaviors, there is still no protection for married couples who may one day be faced with the tragic consequences of a spouse’s infidelity.
