Women working in hospitals in Pakistan say they regularly face sexual harassment, violence and verbal abuse, from male colleagues, patients and their families.
Following the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at work in an Indian hospital, more than a dozen female medics in Pakistan told the BBC they were worried about their own safety.
But this is a largely hidden crisis, as many are too scared to come forward to report the crimes – while those who do are often told no one would believe their allegations.
Most of the women the BBC spoke to asked that their names be withheld for fear of losing their jobs, “honour and respect”.
A few months ago, a young doctor came to Dr Nusrat (not her real name) in tears. While she was using the toilet, a male doctor had filmed the woman through a hole in the wall and was using the video to blackmail her.
“I suggested filing a complaint with the FIA [Federal Investigation Agency, which handles cyber crimes], but she refused. She said she didn’t want it to be leaked and reach her family or in-laws,” Dr Nusrat explained, adding that she knows of at least three other cases where female doctors have been secretly filmed.
Dr Nusrat happened to know someone senior in the police who spoke to the blackmailer, warning him he could be arrested for what he had done. The police officer made sure the video was deleted.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t take further action, but we got the hole covered so that no-one could do it again,” says Dr Nusrat.
Other women shared experiences of being sexually harassed, including Dr Aamna (not her real name), who was a resident medical officer in a government hospital five years ago when she was targeted by her senior doctor, a powerful man.
“When he saw me with a file in my hand, he would try to lean over it, make inappropriate comments, and try to touch me,” she says.
She filed a complaint with the hospital administration, but says she was met with indifference. “I was told I had only been there for a short time, and asked what proof I had of this harassment. They said, ‘We’ve been unable to fix this person in seven years – nothing will change, and no-one will believe you’.”
Dr Aamna says she knows of other women who have managed to record videos of harassment, “but nothing happens – the harasser is merely transferred to another ward for a few months, then comes back”.
She had to complete her placement to qualify as a doctor, but moved as soon as it was over.
Testimony gathered by the BBC suggests her story is disturbingly common.
