PARBAT, Nov 5 - It's not just letters that women from Pang VDC - 7 in Parbat send to their husbands living abroad. Rather, they send condoms  along with the letter.

Asking their hubbies not to keep physical relations with other women, they send condoms so that they will at least have safe sex in case they cannot control the libido. "As I learned that unsafe relations make a person vulnerable to HIV, I send condom along with the letter to my husband," says Laxmi Sunar, member of the local women's group, adding, "Hesitating to talk about sexual relations will not help. We should change behavior."

In a bid to adopt every precaution from contact with HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, dalit women in the village learned about condom use from reproductive health and safe motherhood program that is going on in the district for the past two years.

Dhan Kumari BK, chairperson of the group, says the perception among women that talking about condom is bad has changed now and women have started making their husbands and neighbors aware about  condom use. According to her, women have now  understood that they should give birth to less number of children and the use of condom contributes to safe motherhood.

Now, women have set the habit of often writing to their husbands about HIV and AIDS.

After many were diagnosed with HIV in the district, Red Cross started the program. Though the donor has terminated the project, the project has left a positive impact among locals. Peer education, that is part of the program has also left positive impact among school children, says Bal Krishna Banstola, teacher of Himalaya High Secondary School.