Tanzanian children with HIV to wear red ribbon on uniforms Mohammed Lukema, head of Kibaha Primary School, said parents had asked for their children to wear red ribbons if they were infected so they could be excused from strenuous duties at the rural school, such as sweeping the compound and fetching and carrying water. The school and the society at large have decided to label pupils' uniforms. When contacted by The Daily Telegraph for comment after the row broke, he declined to comment, saying it was a matter for the district's Director of Education. Msafiri Thomas was leading an HIV/Aids community awareness scheme in the area when the practice of putting ribbon on pupils emerged in a focus group. "It was raised by parents, teachers and school leavers and seems to have been happening for some time," he told The Daily Telegraph. The general feeling was that it wasn't a good thing because life is hard enough for students living with HIV without making life harder for them at school. Students wearing these ribbons are sometimes shunned by other pupils who don't want to share or be near them because they fear they will be infected. There must be another well to help these children. Rebecca Mshumbusi, chairperson of the Kibaha Association of People Living with HIV/Aids, said that forcing children to reveal their status was not only unethical but illegal. In 2008, a law was passed which makes it illegal to discriminate against someone with HIV or Aids, or to reveal another's status.