An Indian court
has denied an HIV-positive woman custody of her
8-year-old daughter, a rights activist said Friday.
The woman, who
was not identified to protect her privacy, married a
soldier from northwestern Rajasthan state in the late 1990s
without knowing that he was HIV-positive, said Kavita
Srivastav, state convener of the People's Union for
Civil Liberties, a private rights group.
Her husband died
four years ago. After his death, her in-laws began
treating the woman badly and took her daughter on the
grounds that the mother had become HIV-positive,
Srivastav said.
She moved to her
parents' home and later approached a court in Jaipur,
the capital of Rajasthan, for custody of her daughter.
The court
rejected her plea earlier this week, ruling that she would
not able to take care of her daughter because of her
HIV-positive status, Srivastav said.
The People's
Union for Civil Liberties challenged the verdict in an
appeals court in Jaipur on Thursday. The court put the
lower-court decision on hold and has agreed to hear
the petition, according to the woman's attorney, Ajay
Jain. (AP)
