However, On Friday, July 19, when the protesting nurses tried to march towards the Sindh Chief Minister House the police subjected them to baton charge, as a result of which several nurses were injured.
At least 20 nurses had also been detained, including Sindh Nursing Alliance leader Aijaz Kalheri. A few opposition leaders also participated in the nurses’ march towards the Chief Minister House. They supported their demands saying nurses played an important part in the healthcare system.
The nurses’ demands included the appointment of 14,000 new nurses, promotion and up-gradation of the nursing staff under the four-tier formula, upgrading the powers of nursing school principals, provision of health allowance and increasing the stipend of nursing students to Rs25,000.
Nurses have been agitating for the issuance of a notification guaranteeing the approval of their demands. They maintained that the government had been dilly-dallying on the issuance of the relevant notification.
However, talking to the media, an adviser to the Sindh CM, Murtaza Wahab, said nurses should protest in a civilised manner. He accused the opposition of trying to gain political advantage out of the nurses’ protests. Subjecting female nurses to baton charge is inhumane.
The profession of nursing symbolises kindness. But when nurses and those from the noble profession of teaching are subjected to cruelty, this shows something is seriously wrong in that society. There are not many job opportunities available for trained nurses in Pakistan.
In rural areas even where trained nurses are available at BHUs, people prefer quacks and seek the services of midwives. So many trained nurses go abroad for jobs.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22, 2019.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ