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ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) - On a back street in one of Antananarivo's seedier neighborhoods, Saholy clutches at the hood of her blue jacket, pulling it down against the light rain. She steels herself for more verbal abuse from her fellow street walkers plying their trade on the corners.
Saholy is 39, a single mother of three teenagers, a prostitute ashamed of her life and, for the last couple of years, a weapon in Madagascar's war on AIDS. Several nights a week, she dons a blue uniform and white badge and tries to convince prostitutes to have only protected sex and get regular medical checkups.
"The other sex workers insult us and try to drive us away because we are interfering with their work," says Saholy, who does not want to be identified further for fear her children will learn what she does. "We leave but keep coming back. Eventually they listen to what we have to say."
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