DNA Edit: Medieval institute

In a case of outright stupidity and, dare one say, crassness bordering on vulgarity, the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna has exposed itself to ridicule and criticism. It is astonishing how, since 1984, the premier hospital’s authorities continued with the Marital Status declaration forms, which posed offensive questions such as whether one is virgin, and if one maintains multiple wives! When the questions became public recently, the IGIMS’s initial defence was its adherence to a 33-year-old tradition! Surprisingly, it took just one controversy to drop the word virgin from the form! What can continue in the name of tradition should always be open to scrutiny.

Years of mindless practice cannot be an alibi to stick to something that’s offensive and a blatant intrusion of privacy. Similarly, if such forms are circulated in other government hospitals, where doctors, nurses and the support staff have go through similar humiliation, then it is time they are recalled. If the recent backlash can force the authorities to drop a word, then they might as well issue a fresh questionnaire that is scrubbed clean of medieval thoughts. Regressive notions do not have a place in the civilised world.

Whether a girl/woman is virgin is her prerogative, and if the authorities fail to realise that asking a respondent to answer such a question is offensive, they desperately need a reality check. Times they are a changin’, but our bureaucrats are caught in a time warp.