Along with the rest of the world, Nepal, too, observed World Aids Day on December 1. This year the theme of World Aids Day focuses on the one-word slogan “Equalize”, urging everyone to confront the inequalities which are holding back progress in ending Aids. This year’s slogan stresses changing the world’s view on HIV/Aids, along with diagnosing and treating this viral disease.

The deep-seated stigma against menstruation and disability has led to biased and prejudice  understanding of the issue and triggered discriminatory practices at the cost of their wellbeing

Most obese patients who qualify for weight loss surgery don’t seek it out, and that may be due at least partly to stigma, a U.S. survey suggests.

GORKHA, Oct 3: It is not easy to imagine how a woman could live inside a congested makeshift hut with just tarpaulin to cover the roof while taking care of a one-month-old newborn.

DADELDHURA, Aug 1: The feeling of shame regarding abortions that existed in the rural parts as early as a few years ago is gradually changing. Those who used to ostracize women for aborting their babies have started encouraging them for safe abortion these days.

One of the activists from Mid Western Nepal shared that many NGO workers in the area do not eat in the community programs. They pretend to be ‘fasting’.

KHOTANG, April 5: It's hard to imagine the pain of a woman whose uterus protrudes out of the vagina following a third degree prolapse. A Dalit woman of Rakhabandel, Aiselukharka Rural Municipality-1 in the district has been bearing with this pain for the last 33 years.

KATHMANDU, August 19: Despite knowing how important mother's milk is for an infant, nursing mothers often are obliged to leave their newborns starving just to avoid the embarrassment of breastfeeding them in public.

When we get physically hurt, the wounds on our body reflect our condition and pain. The pain that we face receives instant care and sympathy from our friends and close ones. We neither are shy talking about the wound nor are we scared sharing about the pain, the discomfort we are facing, with the people. But when things regarding mental discomfort or illness come up, everyone gets silent. It immediately turns into a matter of secrecy. But why is it so? Why is mental discomfort always hidden? What makes it so hard for us to talk about mental illness? Why is mental health so stigmatized in our society?

Jagannath Lamichhane was 10 when he began having suicidal thoughts. “I couldn’t tell my parents that I was having suicidal thoughts or that I got scared for no reason,” he says. “Instead, I casually told them I had a headache or that my eyes hurt.”

Social stigma, fear of isolation attached to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is driving patients towards depression and suicide, a survey conducted by Curofy revealed on Wednesday.

Celebrity news reports over the past four decades may have contributed to the changing makeup of the traditional family and helped destigmatise out-of-wedlock childbirths in the US, a new study has found. “Celebrities typically did not apologize for getting pregnant outside of marriage,” said Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk, an assistant professor from University at Buffalo.

KATHMANDU, Oct 7: Fifty youth activists gathered at Basantapur Durbar Square on Sunday displaying placards to raise their voice against the prevailing social stigmas in a question campaign.