Lactating mothers, pregnant women selected for election duty

Lactating mothers and pregnant women are exempted from COVID-19 vaccination. He is also not to be deputed for assembly election duty. But government orders in this regard are more respected in violation, some government employees claim.

A female employee of the animal husbandry department in the southern district, whose child is only seven months old, said on Sunday that her request for exemption from election duty was denied by senior officials. She alleged that they forced her to attend training sessions for polling officers. Another female employee of the Revenue Department, who has a nine-month-old baby and is a resident of Malabar district, said she had a similar experience.

“We were told that in view of the epidemic, the number of polling stations across the state has increased. He said that if government employees are exempted from election duty on one or the other, it will cause a shortage of personnel. Since we have already attended training sessions, we have no other way but to join election duty. ‘It is learned that employees in a vaccine production unit have also been marked for election duty. Although there are similar but isolated complaints from different parts of the state, these women are not willing to go public due to the fear of official reprisals.

Work From Home

According to a government order on 2 February, pregnant women, lactating mothers with children under the age of one, cancer patients and those undergoing organ transplants can opt for ‘work from home’. The Department of Disaster Management issued an order on October 8, 2020, stating that they were exempted from appearing directly in the office.

The government has made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for all those who will participate in election duty. “Lactating mothers and pregnant women cannot be vaccinated, but they are being selected for election work. Is there no contradiction? The voting process is considered consistent with the epidemic protocol and voters who are for breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women receive special care. A senior health department official said that when it comes to government employees, such attention is not given. It is a violation of human rights and child rights.