Furore over safe-sex comments alarms Aids workers

Anti-Aids officials in India fear that their message is being stymied by religious groups, who have attacked a movie star and teenage tennis icon Sania Mirza for advocating safe sex.

Sujatha Rao, director-general of the National Aids Control Organisation, speaking at the launch of the United Nations Aids Epidemic Report on Monday, said a campaign against Tamil actress Khushboo for her remarks on premarital and safe sex could hurt the country's struggling Aids-awareness programme.

The actress told a magazine that premarital sex is OK 'provided safety measures are followed to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases'.

Khushboo is now being sued by political activists in the conservative southern state of Tamil Nadu. She has been pelted with eggs and showered with shoes. 'This whole controversy triggered by Khushboo's comments makes me very worried,' Ms Rao said. 'We need to be prepared on these issues which are very central to contain HIV/Aids.'

Then, last week, tennis ace Mirza said: 'You don't want me to tell you to have safe sex, whether it is before or after marriage. Everyone must know what he or she is doing.'

Various groups including orthodox Muslims, radical Hindus and right-wing youths held demonstrations over the weekend and burned portraits of the 19-year-old sportswoman, who became the darling of the nation after victories on the international tennis circuit. She was forced to retract the statement, declaring that premarital sex 'is a very big sin in Islam and one which I believe will not be forgiven by Allah'.