Hysterectomies in Beed district to be probed: govt

Rattled by the increasing number of hysterectomies in the Beed district among female sugarcane workers, the Maharashtra government has decided to conduct a detailed probe.

Health minister Eknath Shinde said that a committee would look into the issue and submit a report.

The issue was raised in the Maharashtra Legislative Council by Shiv Sena legislator Dr Neelam Gorhe.

According to the minister, 4,605 women underwent surgeries to remove their uterus in Beed district in last three years. "A committee headed by Beed district's civil surgeon found that 99 private hospitals carried out 4,605 hysterectomies from 2016-17 to 2018-19," he said.

A committee, headed by state public health department's principal secretary and comprising three gynecologists and also some representatives of women MLAs, has been asked to submit its fact-finding report in two months on the hysterectomies in Beed, Shinde said

The state government has also instructed all surgeons not to carry out any hysterectomies unnecessarily, he added.

The National Commission for Women has issued a notice to the state chief secretary, about incidents of women getting their wombs removed to avoid hindrance in work and fines due to menstruation.

Recently, various groups like Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch, Ekal Mahila Sanghatan, Jana Aarogya Abhiyan and Bharatiya Mahila Federation have come together to raise the issue in Mumbai.

The migrant women workers are charged fine of around Rs. 500 if they take off from work for even a day during their menstrual period. In order to get rid of menstruation, which becomes a barrier for their work and income, these women are opting for hysterectomies.

Thousands of such women workers have been induced by private hospitals in Beed to undergo medically unnecessary hysterectomies.