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HYDERABAD, Dec 17: Speakers at a workshop on “Women’s Health, a Basic Right” held at a hotel here on Wednesday deplored the apathy of authorities and the civil society towards women.
They said the government and the society should ensure that women were provided with medical care, which was their fundamental right.
The workshop was organized by the Trust for Rural Development.
In his speech, TRD director Zafar Junejo spoke about health problems of women and said their health problems were usually ignored.
He said it was the duty of the government, civil society and NGOs to ensure that women were not denied health care.
The district health officer, Dr Ashfaq Ahmad Bhutto, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said NGOs, civil society and the government would have to work jointly to ensure health facilities to women.
Dr Mohammad Ali Qureshi, Dr Javed Khwaja and Dr Ghulam Haider Birhamani deplored the absence of organized health arrangements for women in Nara, Kachho, Kohistan and Thar.
They said pregnant women of the areas were taken care of by untrained midwives.
They said there was a shortage of doctors and paramedical staff in the areas and the women were forced to seek help from quacks.
Naseem Sehar, Naseem Mallah, Naeema Memon, Rozina Junejo and others said women were neglected in the interior of Sindh.
They informed the participants that 40,000 women died every year at the time of delivery.
ALLEGATIONS DENIED: The Sindh University authorities on Wednesday refuted allegations levelled by a group of students in a news conference held on Tuesday.
The university registrar said in a statement the institution had not increased admission fees during the last five years though the University Grants Commission now the Higher Education Commission had allowed 15 per cent increase every year.
He said the university was deploying 62 buses to pick and drop the students during the on-going semester examinations and 80 buses plied during the academic days.
The registrar said the university had established the Allama I.I. Kazi Endowment Fund with an initial amount of Rs10 million to award scholarships to students of Thar and other deprived areas of Sindh.
