Occurrences of abortions in the capital have increased at an alarming rate in recent years, and the exact number is impossible to find as most of them are done illegally, according to different sources in maternity centres and women’s rights activists in the capital.
The number of unwanted pregnancies is especially high among teenage girls, the sources claimed.
More than 150 abortions on average take place every day in Mirpur and Shyamoli areas alone, according to Babu, who works around Shyamoli area to dispose of dead foetal remains he collects from the abortion facilities.
“The number was half even two years ago,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
A major number of the abortion seekers are sex workers. Around 60% of them have gone through abortion more than once, according to an ICDDR,B report.
Sex workers in Dhaka and Daulatdia said they went to facilities unheard of to get their abortion because they were denied access to most places because of their profession.
Razia (not her real name), a sex worker previously based in Madaripur, came to Dhaka after her brothel had been evicted a year ago. She has had three abortions in the past 18 years, and all of them were done in places where nurses and untrained midwives attended her.
“Since my last abortion, I have been suffering from severe uterus complications,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.
Most of the abortions are done in an unsafe and unhygienic environment, which poses threat to the patients’ health, said Dr Feroza Begum, a gynaecologist who has private practice in Dhanmondi area.
“Without skilled attendants, these procedures may also cause complications for the women in future pregnancies,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.
Shady facilities bending the law
The Dhaka Tribune found several establishments in Mirpur 1 which are referred to abortion seekers by many doctors and nurses in the city clinics. These places especially cater to patients who are pregnant for more than three months, even though it is illegal to do so.
Selina (not her real name), a student at National University, did not realise she was pregnant until she was four months along. The child’s father promised to marry her but severed all contacts with her after a while.
“It was not possible for me to get an abortion at government facilities due to legal restrictions,” she told the Dhaka Tribune. “So, I went to a clinic at Shantinagar and had an abortion, as I was six months along at the time.”
Signboards and advertisements of such facilities can be found in Farmgate, Bailey Road, Shantinagar, Gabtoli, and Sayedabad areas. Even though they claim to be maternity centres, they provide services to terminate pregnancies older than four months.
In most cases, abortion seekers are not told about the implications of terminating a pregnancy that is more than three months old, said a staff in Marie Stopes Maternity Centre in Dhanmondi, seeking anonymity.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Dr Feroza Begum said: “If families do not come forward to provide support to these women, they are left with little choice but to go to these facilities providing unskilled and unhealthy abortions.
“Even if they follow proper procedures, we cannot help them due to legal restraints.
“Without lack of information and support, these women do not know what to do, and they often end up suffering several complications, infections, haemorrhage and other long-term health problems.”
She said: “We need to address these problems and find a solution on social ground to avoid unsafe abortions. Families need to come forward to support the women as well.”
Ayesha Khanam, president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, believes that the lack of proper sex education is the main reason behind this situation.
“Sex education is a must in our schools and colleges to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Stronger familial bonds and mutual respect is essential when a woman seeks abortion. The government needs to promote mass awareness in this regard,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Forced marriage because of unexpected pregnancy is not a solution. In fact, these marriages are prone to end up in divorces, which is worse. There is no other alternative to social awareness and support in this case,” she said.