NCW is disturbed to read the report of negligence and denial of service by the hospital officials to the pregnant woman. We've written to Pu Lalnunmawia Chuaungo, Chief Secretary @CMOMizoram for immediate inquiry.@paritosh_chakma @ZoramthangaCM @SosoShaiza @sharmarekha https://t.co/xOcH2KS07s— NCW (@NCWIndia) May 6, 2020
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, 6 MAY 2020, https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/may/06/ncw-orders-probe-into-denial-of-child-delivery-at-mizoram-hospital-without-voter-id-2139923.html
GUWAHATI: The National Commission for
Women (NCW) has issued a notice to the Mizoram government over an order
purportedly issued by the state’s health department to a hospital on March 1
that made “voter ID mandatory for every woman delivering a child at the Tlabung
Civil Hospital”.
“NCW is disturbed to read the report of
negligence and denial of service by the hospital officials to the pregnant
woman. We’ve written to Pu Lalnunmawia Chuaungo, Chief Secretary, for an
immediate inquiry,” the Commission tweeted.
Earlier, Paritosh Chakma, who is the
president of Mizoram Chakma Alliance Against Discrimination, had tweeted
tagging the NCW. He had written that the act of the Mizoram government was
“bone-chilling, outright unethical, illegal, flagrant violation of the right to
health.” He had demanded the withdrawal of the order.
On Wednesday, he said, “The notification
issued by the State of Mizoram to make voter-ID mandatory for accessing
treatment amounts to Mizoram government allowing those not having voter IDs to be
left untreated even if they have COVID-19 and therefore, those without voter
IDs shall be at liberty to spread the coronavirus in case of infections. This
violates each and every guideline issued by the Government of India to combat
COVID-19.”
He said thousands of Chakmas, deleted
from the voter list during 1995, were never enrolled and their existence in the
electoral rolls prior to 1995 has no bearing. He said as the result of an
unofficial ceiling imposed on the Chakmas during electoral revisions, people
belonging to the community cannot get enrolled in the voter list every year.
Obviously, there are hundreds of Chakmas who were not issued Voter IDs and do
not have one. The notification by the health department is part of the
continuing discrimination against the minority Chakmas, Paritosh alleged.
