India “doctors” arrested for sterilizing women without anesthesia
Women dress their saris after having taken their morning bath in the Ganges river during the Sonepur Mela on November 15, 2011 in Sonepur near Patna, India. The cattle fair, held in the Indian state of Bihar, has its origins during ancient times, when people traded elephants and horses across the river Ganges.
Three men posing as doctors were arrested for performing gruesome field sterilization surgeries on more than 50 women in rural Bihar, the BBC reported.
The men reportedly raced through the butchering in under two hours, without the use of anesthesia, in a gruesome parody of the tubectomy operations that India relies on as its main weapon in the fight against overpopulation, the news channel said.
More from GlobalPost: Is sterilization the answer to India's population woes?
What's worse: It appears that the group, known, ironically, as the Jai Ambe Welfare Society, has allegedly been conducting similar “family planning camps” in Bihar for some time, according to local police.
"The Jai Ambe Welfare Society has been regularly organizing family planning camps in Bihar, putting lives of innocent women in danger," the BBC quoted a local police officer as saying.
"When I reached the spot I was surprised to find that not a single qualified doctor was present there and even the saline bottles used for the surgery were well past their expiry dates."
As I wrote for GlobalPost in 2010, India relies heavily on female sterilization to curb its population problem, which has its own perils. Not only is female sterilization much more dangerous than male vasectomies, but so-called “incentive based” sterilization programs can often be abused.
More from GlobalPost: Injectable vasectomies
In this case: Women were paid a bit more than $10 to go under the knife, according to the BBC.
At The World, we believe strongly that human-centered journalism is at the heart of an informed public and a strong democracy. We see democracy and journalism as two sides of the same coin. If you care about one, it is imperative to care about the other.
Every day, our nonprofit newsroom seeks to inform and empower listeners and hold the powerful accountable. Neither would be possible without the support of listeners like you. If you believe in our work, will you give today? We need your help now more than ever! Every gift will be matched 2:1, so your impact will go even further.