Back in the late 90s I attended a medical conference in a medical college in Lahore when the speaker, a professor of dermatology, declared HIV/AIDS patients as sinners. It was more than a decade after HIV discovery, but the stigma surrounding HIV was still at its peak. He called it God's punishment on those people who are homosexuals. The whole auditorium applauded this "Islamic touch", and the speaker's face was gleaming with joy and pride once he concluded his speech.

It was not a very new disease then and at least this professor should have known that HIV is not exclusively spread by homosexuals, but there are other routes of transmission too. When he asked questions from the audience, I raised my hand. He was so happy with the audience response that he allowed me to ask the question.

I said, "Sir, are the newborns who get HIV from their mothers also being punished? If yes, for what sins?"

There was a pin-drop silence in the auditorium, and many attendees hated my question and provided the speaker with an........

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