Undercovered: Taking a Stand Against Dangerous ‘Sterilization Camps’

Undercovered is our daily feature bringing attention to women’s issues worldwide, which we feel deserve a larger audience.

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India has some of the strictest population control measures in the world, but on Friday the nation’s highest court issued a ruling that will shut down “sterilization camps” after hundreds of women died because of their mismanagement.

Suchitra Mohanty and Nita Bhalla, writing for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, report:

In a judgment on Wednesday, the Supreme Court said 363 women died between 2010 and 2013 during or after surgery in sterilisation camps due poor management by local authorities which included doctors using dirty equipment and expired drugs.

It called on the federal government to ensure the country’s 29 states and seven union territories halt the camps, provide adequate compensation for victims and their families, and hold negligent doctors accountable.

Activists have long campaigned for better regulation of sterilisation camps – where women are gathered for mass surgeries to sever or seal their fallopian tubes – and more investment in alternative forms of contraception.

You can read the complete report here.

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[photo: Supreme Court of India. Legaleagle86 CC SA 3.0. via Wikicommons]

Undercovered is a daily feature from Mediaite, bringing attention to stories about women’s issues that warrant more attention. Go through the Undercovered archives here. If you have an idea or a tip, please email us at Undercovered@mediaite.com

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