DHQ’s female doctors face harassment
PHOTO: FILE
The case of four female doctors who had to suffer an invasion of privacy when highly objectionable videos of them were filmed on the premises of Rawalpindi District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital while they were on duty, has caused the lax security system to come into question.
Among the doctors was also a senior surgeon, Dr Hafsa Majid, who registered a case against the unknown accused for making objectionable videos, at the Ganjmandi police. In her statement, Dr Majid told the police that she is a house surgeon. She complained that the DHQ Hospital’s security had lapsed.
According to the doctor, it is now impossible for female doctors and nurses to perform their duties as they routinely face harassment and intimidation at the hospital. She reported that incidents of harassment and filming objectionable videos occur in the hospital daily.
Other lady doctors have also been subjected to being filmed without permission, which is then followed up with blackmail and harassment. As a result, all-female doctors and nurses in the hospital are unsafe and are experiencing severe distress. This has also severely affected their duties.
Under such worrisome circumstances, it becomes extremely difficult for any professional to perform their duties. Dr Majid further said that even visitors are affected by a lack of security as they are also disturbed by such incidents. “All of this causes interference in public service,” she said.
The Doctor’s Association has condemned the occurrence of such incidents. Meanwhile, the District Health Officer has said that a departmental inquiry will be conducted.
The parents of female doctors and nurses have also expressed their concern and have demanded strict legal action against the miscreants, the installation of closed-circuit cameras in the hospital and banning the entry of suspicious persons into the hospital.
Even after 48 hours had passed since the case’s registration, the police had been unable to take any action or arrest any of the accused persons. If the matter is not resolved soon, the female doctors have vowed to go on a protest and boycott next week.
Published in The Express Tribune May 10th, 2024.