The Independent is proud to present its new documentary Wombs of Debt, investigating the hidden health crisis facing women in India’s sugarcane industry

Every year, as the monsoon retreats, nearly 1.5 million migrant workers in Maharashtra leave their homes to harvest sugarcane. Among them are hundreds of thousands of women working grueling days in an industry that supplies some of the world’s biggest companies.

In Wombs of Debt, a new 25-minute documentary from The Independent, producer and director Noopur Jambheker and videographer Mohammad Dawood travel to Maharashtra’s Beed district to investigate the devastating consequences of the system for female sugarcane cutters.

Bound by the local “Koita” system, couples work together under advance contracts arranged through labour brokers. Low wages and fines for missing work can leave families trapped in cycles of debt, while workers endure shifts of up to 14 hours in difficult conditions.

For women, the pressures can have a devastating impact. The documentary investigates how extreme working conditions, inadequate sanitation, limited access to health education and the financial consequences of missing work have contributed to women undergoing hysterectomies to continue working through the harvest.

In Beed, the hysterectomy rate stands at 17 per cent – more than five times the national average – with more than 13,000 women undergoing the procedure over a decade.

Noopur Jambheker, Producer and Director of Wombs of Debt, said: “Discovering these devastating procedures back in 2023 left me profoundly shocked, and I made the decision to bring this story to light. Directing and producing this documentary on the ground in the small town of Beed, and then travelling across states to follow the journey of the cane cutters, meant building deep trust with the people, bridging language barriers and navigating intense cultural taboos surrounding motherhood.

Mohammad Dawood, Videographer and Editor of Wombs of Debt, said: “Shooting this film meant embedding myself in harsh, high-intensity field environments where labour exploitation often remains hidden from the lens. Capturing the raw physical reality of sugarcane cutters while preserving the dignity of these women was emotionally challenging, particularly as I could empathise with their struggles.”

Wombs of Debt is available to watch on The Independent’s website and YouTube channel from 20th October.