"Sorry, you are dead": A woman from Bulungur says she cannot prove she is alive
A 25-year-old woman living in the Bulungur district claims that she is registered as a deceased person in state electronic databases. According to her, due to an error at the maternity hospital, she and her baby were entered into the database as a "maternal and infant death" in 2022, and even though 4 years have passed, the Face ID system and the MyGov application still display the information "citizen is not alive." The regional Health Department stated that the issue has been resolved.
"Sorry, you are dead": A woman from Bulungur says she cannot prove she is alive
According to her, this situation arose after she went to the maternity hospital on August 14, 2022, to give birth to her first child.
- During my first labor, I went to the maternity hospital. My baby was born through induced labor. Three days later, after I was discharged from the maternity hospital, due to some mistake, the mother's death was also entered along with the baby's death. After that, I was registered as deceased in the state database, - says Bibimaryam Kholbutayeva.
The woman found out about this the following year when she went to the maternity hospital for the second time.
- They couldn't find me in the system. "Citizen, you are showing up as dead in the database," they said. When we asked how this could be, the maternity hospital staff admitted that the mistake was on their part. They even wrote an acknowledgment of the mistake on a small piece of paper, - she says.
After that, her relatives contacted various agencies to try to correct the information. As a result, the problem in some of the woman's documents was resolved, and a birth certificate was also obtained for her second child.
However, the problem remained in the electronic biometric systems.
- They told me that my documents were sorted out. But when checked via Face ID, the response "citizen is not alive" still appears. I saw this situation again when I went to the center to get a loan. I gave my passport, and when they checked via Face ID, it showed "citizen is not alive," - says Kholbutayeva.
According to her, the same information is reflected in the MyGov application.
- For proof, I also downloaded the MyGov application. It also shows that the citizen is deceased. When I went to the passport office, they said, "the problem is not with us, the database is not working." When I went to the maternity hospital, the chief physician was also surprised. "We entered you as alive, this is the first time such a situation is happening," they said, - says the woman.
Bibimaryam Kholbutayeva says she has called the hotlines of several government agencies to resolve the issue.
- They told me they would reply within three days, but there was no reply. Then I called the number 1000. When I explained the situation, I received the answer: "Citizen, sorry, if you are found to be dead in the system, I cannot accept your application," - she says.