‘Job karvi hoy to ubha rehvu pade’

Surat: Fear of losing their jobs made most of the probationary women clerks of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) swallow the pain of humiliation at the hand of the doctors at the state-run Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research (SMIMER) hospital.
For, the ones who dared to raise their objection at being allegedly made to stand naked for hours together in a group, were brusquely told to shut up by a gynae doctor, who asserted: "Job karvi hoy to ubha revu pade” (If you want the job, you will have to keep standing.)
The ignominious ‘fitness test’ that many of the 400 probationary clerks, who have completed three years of training, took at SMIMER hospital ended in trauma for a majority of them. The women were made to stand undressed in groups of around 10 in a ‘barely covered room’ for more than two hours, besides some having to face the controversial ‘finger examination’ and embarrassing questions in front of the others.
The matter came to light after a few of them complained to their respective seniors in different departments about the medical ordeal. The seniors informed their respective bosses, but no one took immediate action to halt the unsavoury practice claiming it to be mandatory as prescribed in the government rules for recruitment.
They also pointed out the fact that a single complaint may create an unnecessary issue for the individual candidate. "A senior corporation employee in whom one of the women confided came to me. I initially thought that it is related to only one candidate but never imagined that this is being done to many other women employees too," a senior officer told TOI.
Later, some of the senior SMC officials were asked by the top bosses to verify the truth on their individual level. While probing, much to their horror, the officials found out that they managed to open the Pandora’s box when such instances were seen to common knowledge among the corporation staffers.
The top brass of the civic body is now working to find out how the issue went unnoticed for so long and continued to be practised in the hospital managed by the civic body.
Due to the alleged humiliating test, some of the women candidates who were to undergo the fitness test were seen grappling with excuses to delay it. "I know some women who were afraid to go to the hospital after they heard details from their colleagues who have already undergone the tests," said a source in the department, who knows a couple of women who are probationary clerks in the SMC.
Despite several attempts, Dr Ashwin Vachhani, head of gynaecology department at SMIMER was not available for his comments.