The Scottish Leprosy Mission is urging Scottish churchgoers to join its campaign to repeal all laws that discriminate against people affected by leprosy.

There are more than 100 laws across the world that explicitly discriminate against people who have received a leprosy diagnosis, potentially affecting millions of people worldwide.

The laws – in countries including America, Malta, Thailand, Singapore, Nepal, India, and the UAE - permit an array of injustices to be perpetrated against persons affected by leprosy, including forced segregation, being denied access to public transport, having leprosy as a legitimate basis for divorce, being denied employment, and being denied citizenship or visas.

Amar Timalsina is one of the Leprosy Mission’s international trustees and has been a victim of legislation in Nepal which allows people to be divorced because of leprosy.

He said: “My first marriage ended when my wife learnt that I had had leprosy. I had been cured of the disease before I had met her and there was nothing to suggest I had ever had the disease. However, when she learnt of this part of my past, she was distraught. She called it ‘the dreaded disease’. When she told her parents about this, they immediately encouraged her to leave me. One day I returned home to find all of her things gone. I was cured of leprosy, but I still carried the shame and stigma that surrounds it.”

Linda Todd, CEO of the Leprosy Mission, said: “These laws are a grave injustice. They are based on the myths, lies, and stigma that surround the disease. Leprosy is curable, treatment is free, and the disease is mildly infectious. There is no justification for these laws.

“While these laws remain on statute books across the world, some of God’s most vulnerable children are at risk of facing legal discrimination from their governments, their employers, their neighbours, and their families. Thankfully, you have an opportunity to make a difference with this petition.”

The Leprosy Mission’s petition will be presented to the UN’s Human Rights Council in September. You can sign it at leprosymission.scot/petition2021