ecent media reports of a startling number of hysterectomies being performed in various Indian states have raised ethical concern in the public health community. In our view, this is a perplexing health policy issue as it could result in serious side effects being apprehended in large numbers of young women, which would normally appear years later. We analyse the construction of the "need" for hysterectomy within the framework of relational ethics, which focuses on roles in relation to others, and the critical feminist intersectionality theory.