It was in the year 2015 that reports of unwarranted hysterectomies in Kalburgi district of Karnataka began to appear in several media. A number of private hospitals in Kalburgi wilfully provided unscientific misinformation and instilled fear of cancer and pushed thousands of poor Dalit women to undergo medically unwarranted hysterectomies. Two subsequent detailed enquiries, one by the department of health and family welfare and another by the Karnataka State Women’s Commission, squarely indicted the deliberate misconduct by private hospitals. The National Human Rights Commission took suo moto cognizance of the issue and issued a notice to the state government. After…
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