In a daring move, a Pakistani woman has married an HIV-positive man after being inspired by his efforts to create awareness about the disease and the couple now plans to have a test-tube baby.
Former school-teacher Rubina Ashraf, who is in her 30s, married an HIV-positive man Muhammed Asim Ashraf. She learnt about Asim's condition a few years ago through a friend who is his relative. At the time, Asim was in a hospital in the eastern city of Lahore.
Rubina went to meet him in hospital, as she had never seen an AIDS patient before. "He appeared very weak, but confident," she told the Daily Times Newspaper.
She said she was impressed by Asim's courage but the thought of falling in love and marrying him one day did not initially occur to her. "I wished him good health. I also promised to help him in his cause as soon as he was discharged from hospital," she said.
Rubina met Asim again when he was in Multan to start an AIDS awareness campaign. "To my surprise, he had recovered from his previous ailment and was looking very energetic and very handsome. I started helping him to educate the population about the killer disease," she said.
She found herself falling in love with Asim and proposed to him. "However, the proposal was so appalling to everyone and seemed so weird that all people, including our families, were shocked. Asim even fled to Karachi to avoid the marriage, but I convinced him," she said.
Rubina said Asim was 19 years old when he had was infected with HIV through a syringe. He has been helping AIDS patients and highlighting their plight since then. Referring to her family's reaction to her decision to marry Asim, Rubina said her relatives had declared her "insane".
Her mother was the only person who supported her.
Rubina said she and Asim had contracted a court marriage a few months ago after she told the Lahore High Court that she was "marrying Asim willingly and would be responsible for all the consequences of her act."
Asim said Rubina would never be infected with HIV as they used contraceptives and protection.
"We are even planning to start a family as my wife sometimes insists. We have consulted some medical experts.
We are planning to have a test-tube baby as we have heard that there are very remote chances of a baby catching the HIV infection through that procedure," Asim said.