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Tuesday, 3 November 2020

The women who risk their lives to deliver Pakistan's polio vaccines

As activists target female vaccinators, Pakistan remains one of only two countries worldwide not to have eradicated polio

Nasreen Bibi never saw the face of her killer. The 44-year-old had just finished work for the day, vaccinating children against polio in Chaman, Pakistan. As she and her co-worker, Rashida Bibi (no relation), stood waiting for a rickshaw home, a motorcycle skidded up in front of them carrying two masked men.

The men did not utter a word, but through the churned up dust that filled the air, Rashida remembers seeing the raised pistol, hearing the shots and feeling the pain as the bullets hit her hands, her thighs, her back and her stomach. Rashida fell to the ground and felt Nasreen crumple beside her, blood pouring from a dark hole in her forehead.

This polio drive is corrupting our society and I am not in favour of it. Why not give all jobs to men rather than women?

We are constantly disrespected and declared American agents and infidels.

Related: Polio vaccinations resume in Pakistan and Afghanistan after Covid-19 delays

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from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/362ZjOo

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