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Kenyan women with HIV sue over sterilisation | Kenyan women with HIV sue over sterilisation |
(35 minutes later) | |
A group of HIV-positive women in Kenya has taken legal action against the government, accusing it of arranging for them to be forcibly sterilised. | A group of HIV-positive women in Kenya has taken legal action against the government, accusing it of arranging for them to be forcibly sterilised. |
The five women are demanding compensation from the government and the non-governmental organisations they say carried out the sterilisations. | The five women are demanding compensation from the government and the non-governmental organisations they say carried out the sterilisations. |
Activists protested in the capital, Nairobi, to call for the practice to be banned, claiming it was widespread. | |
The government has not yet commented on their allegations. | The government has not yet commented on their allegations. |
One of the women, Teresia Otieno, told the BBC that she was sterilised without her consent. | One of the women, Teresia Otieno, told the BBC that she was sterilised without her consent. |
"I went in for an operation to give birth to my first child. By the time I was leaving the operation the doctor told me I had been sterilised," Ms Otieno said. | "I went in for an operation to give birth to my first child. By the time I was leaving the operation the doctor told me I had been sterilised," Ms Otieno said. |
The women marched from Nairobi's High Court to Uhuru Park with T-shirts bearing the words: "Enforced and coerced sterilization of women living with HIV". | The women marched from Nairobi's High Court to Uhuru Park with T-shirts bearing the words: "Enforced and coerced sterilization of women living with HIV". |
Lawyer Allan Machele said the reproductive rights of the women had been breached, along with their right to dignity. | Lawyer Allan Machele said the reproductive rights of the women had been breached, along with their right to dignity. |
"When you sterilise women who are living with HIV, you have violated their rights," he added. | "When you sterilise women who are living with HIV, you have violated their rights," he added. |
In 2012, a court in Namibia ruled that three HIV-positive women had been sterilised without their consent. | In 2012, a court in Namibia ruled that three HIV-positive women had been sterilised without their consent. |
The case had been brought by three women who opted to have Caesarean deliveries to reduce the risk of passing the Aids virus to their babies. | The case had been brought by three women who opted to have Caesarean deliveries to reduce the risk of passing the Aids virus to their babies. |
Health officials had denied that the women had been forcibly sterilised. | Health officials had denied that the women had been forcibly sterilised. |
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