OPINION: Public awareness is important

Treatment protocols are necessary to lay down the line of treatment. It is wrong to directly remove the womb of a woman in her 20s. This is an organ that balances the female body, both mentally and physically. Even if the protocols were not mandatory, in case of complaints, the authorities could verify if they had been followed. More importantly, the state should focus on public awareness, counselling, making treatment for gynaecological and sexual problems available in state-run health institutions, and also rope in field-level staff like ANMs to examine women for symptoms of cervical cancer.

—Manisha Tokle, a social activist from Beed