Deaths due to sterilization are not a new problem in India, where more than four million of the operations were performed in 2013-14, according to the government.

India now has the world’s third-highest female sterilization rate after the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico among more than 180 countries tracked by the United Nations.

Fourteen women lost their lives in a sterilization camp conducted in Chattisgarh, where 83 surgeries were performed in just six hours. Parallel to the Chhattisgarh case getting media attention, on the same day, yet another sterilization camp in Chhattisgarh, also left one woman dead with many others still in critical condition. One of the women, who lost her life, belonged to Baiga, a primate tribe protected by law. The government has banned the sterilization of women from these tribes.

Both the incidents are a huge assault on the dignity and rights of women and reflect a lack of accountability, at all levels. It goes against all the international agreements India has signed to protect the rights of women.

The question is what are the safety and health standards being followed? Is this the right way to pursue population stabilization programs? Who should be held responsible for these deaths?

Population First appeals to the Prime Minister to order an impartial inquiry into the case and ensure all those responsible for the tragedy to get the highest punishment possible under the law.

We request you to sign this petition and forward the link to your network. We will forward this signed petition to the PM to stop the tragic and avoidable deaths of vulnerable women in the so called sterilization camps.

Appeal with us to stop this mass massacre of women under the guise of family planning programs.

Read Population First’s blog 'Choice orCoersion'on http://goo.gl/Qf8z3V

Read more about Population First on www.populationfirst.org