Female health workers: They tend to others while their own starve

Protesting women say they haven’t been paid in four months.


Fazal Khaliq November 11, 2011

SWAT:


While they go out making sure other people’s children remain polio-free, female health workers in Swat are watching their own offspring starve every day. “We haven’t been paid our salaries in the last four months,” says Nuzhat, an angry health worker.


Over 800 women health workers took to the streets recently in Swat to protest against the suspension of their incomes. “We refuse to administer polio vaccination throughout Malakand Division until we receive our salaries,” Nuzhat continues.

The main road going from Mingora to Saidu Sharif was blocked off. As their voices rang out above every other sound in the area, it was becoming clear – these women were not backing down.

“Even during all the mayhem in Swat, we continued to carry out our duties, no questions asked … but what the government is doing to us … is not right,” says Rehmania, one of the angry protesters, adding, “Our families are going hungry. God knows how we managed to get through Ramazan … and then Eid.

This was the first time that female health workers from the National Programme for Family Planning took their demands to the streets. They staged a sit-in outside the district coordination officer’s workplace.

Their protest is valid, says the district health EDO when contacted by The Express Tribune. “They’ve been performing their duties responsibly and the provincial government has also promised to arrive at a solution,” he says.

Women in Swat who leave their homes for work face a multitude of problems. Making just a little over minimum wage, they often find themselves being subjected to social degradation. “We go out and slog every day for a mere Rs7,000 which is hardly sufficient for a family … and the government has put a stop to that too,” says a health worker at the sit-in. She returns to her sloganeering, then briefly turns back and adds, “Who are we supposed to turn to for help?”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2011. 

COMMENTS (1)

bigsaf | 12 years ago | Reply

This is pathetic. Their demands must be met. These empowered brave women are developing their communities and the nation and a rock of stability in a world of insanity. Government must step up and act. Where is the gratitude?

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