Friday 1 July 2011

Fact Checking in Inhore

Since my post a few days ago, a number of newspapers have picked up the story. The UK Telegraph. The Week. Pink News. International Business Times. The Hindu.

One comment (grammatical mistakes and mis-spellings in original) on the Telegraph site though struck me.
Vp Goswami

It is totally a failure of media to go in to detail of the issue.I have talked to all the pediatric surgeons of the city and I am confident to say that Nothing like this is going on in Indore,it is a baseless news.As a resposible office bearers of IAP "Indian Academy of Pediatrics" I would like to say categorically that this is the case of negative journalism on the part of HT. is also shocking and surprise for me.We should condemn it as news paper has opened another areas of discussion and need for the parents who are desirous of son , in-turn which will again confuse our society.
Vp Goswami, according to his FB profile, is a Lecturer in medical services for the Government of Madyah Pradesh, in Indore.

It wouldn't be the first time that a newspaper has published a sensationalist beat-up regarding Intersex issues. It also wouldn't be the first time an Indian state government official with an obvious political agenda has tried a cover-up.

More data needed. We may be getting that soon. From The Hindu :
Taking cognisance of a newspaper report about several hospitals and clinics in Indore performing surgeries on baby girls to change their sex, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked the State government to undertake an investigation with a team of doctors, known for high professional competence and ethical standards.

The Commission has sought a detailed report within 15 days, giving facts, figures and circumstances of the cases, list of doctors/hospitals practising genitoplasty and action taken or contemplated against them.
I could only wish that such a report was in preparation in Australia, the US, the UK and elsewhere.

One thing's clear: what might be acceptable treatment for Intersex children is looked on with shock, horror and indignation when non-Intersex children are involved. The double standard is rarely illustrated with such clarity.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

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"In November 2009, he made contact on the web with a gender counselor back in the States. When I met the counselor, he was easygoing and upbeat for someone who’d spent hours talking to servicemen who believed they were inhabiting the wrong body. He knew what he was talking about, though. In person, his gender was difficult to discern—he’d begun his transition as a teenager. “Bradley felt he was female,” the counselor told me. “He was very solid on that.” Quickly, their conversation shifted to the practicalities: How does someone transition from male to female? “He really wanted to do surgery,” the counselor recalled. "

http://nymag.com/news/features/bradley-manning-2011-7/