Late Night Edition

Headlines:

• Free lunch scheme for pregnant women in PHCs to be extended

In yet another maternal care project aimed at benefiting rural women, the State government has decided to provide free food to all pregnant women who visit primary health centres (PHCs) for a check-up…the decision to provide ‘full lunch’ was taken because it took about four hours for a woman to complete a check-up, which included scanning and multiple tests.

• Free Palliative Care Center to be Set Up

A day care centre and hospice offering free palliative care for patients with degenerative illness will be soon set up here by the Palliative Care Association of Tiruchi. The centre would cover patients with chronic ailments including HIV/AIDS, cancer, renal failure, and neurotic and psychiatric disorders. Resources would be raised locally and free medicines distributed.

• A Marriage Bureau for HIV+ in Chennai

Wanted: Bridegroom, who is HIV positive, for an HIV positive bride. These were the words with which a non-governmental organisation in Tamil Nadu recently started the first ever marriage bureau for HIV positive people.

• All-Women Bid for Talaq Rights

The All India Muslim Women’s Personal Law Board today introduced its own version of the nikaahnama or marriage contract, looking to ban instant talaq and safeguard the wife’s interests after divorce. The “sharayat (conditional) nikaahnama” denies the validity of the triple talaq as well as divorce through text message, email, telephone or videoconferencing.