A woman in South Africa has told the BBC how she was sterilized without her consent after she gave birth at the age of 17, and only learned about it 11 years later when she tried to have another child. She was not the only one who went through forced sterilisation. Other victims have also come forward.
Bongekile Msibi was among 48 women sterilized without consent at state hospitals, the Commission for Gender Equality found. Despite being a statutory body, the commission said its inquiry was hampered by the “disappearance” of patients’ files; and its investigators got “hostile reception” from hospital staff.
The commission said its investigators visited 15 hospitals after civil rights groups brought the cases to its attention; some dating back to 2001. South Africa’s health department has not yet given a detailed response to the report; but said its minister, Zweli Mkhize, had requested a meeting with the commission to discuss it.
Forced sterilisation: Ms. Msibi recalled her ordeal to the BBC’s Clare Spencer
Bongekile Msibi | BBC
I woke up after giving birth, looked down and asked: “Why do I have a huge bandage on my stomach?”I did not mind; as I had just given birth to my baby daughter. She was a big baby and I had been anaesthetised and went through a Caesarean section. I left hospital five days after giving birth, with a healthy baby daughter and a huge scar across my stomach. But I did not find out what had really happened for another 11 years.”
Things unraveled when she was trying to conceive again.
“I had been taking the contraceptive pill for that whole time since I had given birth; so it was not strange that I had not had my period. But I got engaged and wanted to have another baby so went to the doctor. He examined me, sat me down, gave me a glass of water and told me I had no uterus.
Forced sterilisation: ‘It is very cruel’ says Msibi
Source: BBC
“I was devastated and confused. It did not make sense because I was already a mother. I wondered when my uterus must have been removed; the only time it could have happened was after I had given birth. It is very cruel what they did to me. I went to the press, then the health ministry and eventually ended up back at the hospital where I gave birth; with the doctor who said he was there that day.
He did not say sorry. He told me that he had sterilized me in order to save my life. I still do not know what he was trying to save me from. There are no records at the hospital. I am not the only one. An inquiry has found there are 47 others. Some were told it was because they had HIV, but I do not. I just don’t know why they did it.”
Some of the other victims remembered signing consent forms just before their deliveries. Investigators found that hospital staff threatened to deny women medical attention if they did not sign the paperwork. Some of the complainants said they got the forms in moments of “extreme pain”; during which they could not fully grasp the content, the report said.
Another complainant was asked to sign forms and when she asked the nurse what they were for, she said the nurse replied: “‘You HIV people don’t ask questions when you make babies. Why are you asking questions now, you must be closed up because you HIV people like making babies and it just annoys us. Just sign the forms, so you can go to theatre’.”
Sterilisation without consent is a crime
Ms. Msibi said: “The doctor told me that I had signed a consent form. I had not. I was a minor at the time so would not have been able to. He then said my mother, who was with me at the birth, had signed the consent form. She said she did not. The news changed my life. In the end I split up with my fiancé. I had to let him go because he really wanted children and I could not give him that.
“When I met the doctor I was asked what I want. I want a baby so badly. When I saw a pregnant colleague this week I could not stand it. My daughter wants a sibling and when we go past street kids she suggests I bring one up as my own. I still have ovaries and so I think the hospital should pay for a surrogate.”
The total number of people living with HIV in South Africa increased to 7.97 million in 2019 from around 4.64 million in 2002, according to government statistics. Around 13.5 percent of the total population was found to be HIV positive last year.
BBC
Also read: How Does Female Genital Mutilation Affect Its Victims?
