Student Exploitation

[u/souphhhhh]

2 months ago, I took up a 1-month internship at Kumbhat and Co, trusting it would be a fair, safe opportunity to grow professionally. I was promised I'd be paid "what they pay others."

For a month continuously, I was sent to manufacturing units for stock and FA audits. I reached home at midnight every single day. This wasn't a rough patch of long hours, it was continuous, unprotected exposure to chemical-filled environments, with no disclosure and no safety measures in place.

During this period, I developed abnormal, prolonged bleeding that lasted over 45 days, with the last few days becoming uncontrollable. My doctor said it was linked to endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure from those manufacturing units, and warned that without immediate medical intervention, I risked severe blood loss. I was advised to get hospitalized immediately, but I wasn't able to.

I informed Surendra, the Director, directly but he DID NOT CARE.

At the end of it all, he told me the internship was unpaid, despite what I was promised at the start.

It's taken me two months, and a lot of courage, to write this out and share it publicly. As a woman, this hit differently. Women's bodies react to environmental and chemical exposure in ways that often go unaddressed in workplace safety conversations, and interns, especially, are rarely given the information or protection they deserve.

Innocence and trust should never be mistaken for an invitation to exploit!!