Why, in our age of science, [do] we still have laws and policies which come from an age of superstition?
If you really want to know yourself, start by writing a book.
Throughout its history, Islam has borrowed and adapted from other civilizations, both ancient and modern.
The law can seem remote, arcane, the stuff of specialists. But it isn't, because for those of us who live in democracies, the law begins with us.
Civil society must be strengthened to help raise awareness among people living with HIV, and those at risk, of their rights, and to ensure they have access to legal services and redress through the courts.
Laws that treat people living with HIV or those at greatest risk with respect start with the way that we treat them ourselves: as equals. If we are going to stop the spread of HIV in our lifetime, then that is the change we need to spread.
Where you criminalize people living with HIV or those at greatest risk, you fuel the epidemic.
Some countries have good laws, laws which could stem the tide of HIV. The problem is that these laws are flouted. Because stigma gives unofficial license to treat people living with HIV or those at greatest risk unlike other citizens.
The achievement of Tahrir Square wasn’t just its grand political movement but the tiny personal battles fought and won against the frictions wearing down Egyptian society: between religions, classes, sexes, and generations.
HIV brings out the best and the worst in humanity, and the laws reflect these attitudes.
The patriarchy is alive and well in Egypt and the wider Arab world.
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