When women living with HIV come to see me, they rarely begin with legal questions. Most often, they say quietly: “I’m afraid of losing my job.”
This case began the same way. She was a young woman from the Tashkent region, a mother of a four-year-old child. She worked as a dishwasher in a small café. Her job was physically demanding, modestly paid, but vital for her family’s survival. Everything changed when her colleagues learned about her HIV status. No formal accusations were made. No official documents were issued. Instead, there were whispers, cautious glances, sudden distance. Conversations stopped when she entered the room. Tasks became heavier. The atmosphere turned cold.
She believed silence would protect her. “If I just keep working, if I don’t argue, maybe they will leave me alone,” she told me. But silence does not always offer protection. Pressure, humiliation, and isolation are not “just workplace tensions.” They are forms of discrimination — even when they are subtle.
Our first step was not drafting complaints or preparing legal documents. We started with something more important: understanding her rights. Without complicated terminology. Without legal jargon. Calmly, step by step. When a person realizes that the law is on their side, fear begins to loosen its grip.
Fear is understandable. But fear does not cancel your rights. Women living with HIV often carry not only medical concerns, but also the heavy burden of stigma. Many endure injustice simply because they believe they have no protection. Yet the law is clear.
It is important to know:
– HIV status is not a lawful ground for dismissal
– An employer has no right to demand disclosure of a diagnosis
– Pressure, harassment, and humiliation in the workplace are discrimination
Legal support is not only about documents and procedures. Sometimes, it is about restoring a sense of dignity. About replacing fear with knowledge. About reminding someone that they are not alone — and that their rights are real. Because fear is powerful. But fear is not the law.
Story of a lawyer from the project “Reducing Stigma and Discrimination Against Women Living with HIV in the Tashkent Region,” implemented within the project ““Empowering Voices for Inclusive Development: Strengthening Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Uzbekistan, focusing on women and youth”” carried out by AFEW International with financial support from the European Union and implemented by the Tashkent Regional Branch of the Republican Social Information Center “ISTIQBOLLI AVLOD.”
