Indian women protest to 'take back the night' after doctor rapes and murders | Global Development

At midnight, thousands of women began marching through the dark streets of West Bengal with burning torches and conch shells.

The processions in the early hours of Thursday, August 15, India's Independence Day, were part of a multi-day protest against the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor in a hospital in the country's capital, Calcutta, last week.

The women marched to chants of “Reclaim the night”, A Indication that the unnamed 31-year-old doctor was attacked on Friday evening during a break from a long shift at the state-run RG Kar Hospital.

The call for women to come out emerged from anger expressed on social media and quickly led to the largest protest movement the state has seen in a long time.

The anger in the streets was directed against the doctor's horrific ordeal, but also against the daily struggle of Indian women to live freely. Organizers said they chose Independence Day to ask: When will women gain their independence?

As protesters passed by houses, condominiums and apartment blocks, many streamed out to join the crowd, undeterred by the rain. Slogans revolved around justice, safety and respect.

Anupama Chakraborty came with her two granddaughters, aged 11 and 13. “This has shocked the country. The girl who was abused was a doctor on duty. If the government is unable to ensure the safety of women in a government facility, what hope is there?” she told the Telegraph.

On Monday, thousands of doctors went on strike and stopped most of their services, severely disrupting patient care across India. They are demanding justice for the victims and better security in hospitals, including tighter access controls, more surveillance cameras and more security guards.

The doctor who was killed had watched the Olympic Games with colleagues, had dinner and talked with her parents before she retreated to a seminar room to rest.

Police investigations revealed that the 33-year-old man arrested for the crime had access to all parts of the hospital, although he appeared to be an unofficial trafficker who helped patients get admitted more quickly in return for money.

The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association, which had called for the strike, called it off after a meeting with Federal Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Wednesday, but many doctors continued to strike.

Distrust of the police investigation increased after the hospital initially told the parents that their daughter had committed suicide.

“It is clear that the hospital staff, along with the police, wanted to cover up the real culprits,” Nazrul Islam, the former director general of police in West Bengal, told news channel NDTV.

The protesters were also outraged that although the hospital's director, Dr. Sandip Ghosh, resigned after the incident, he was reinstated as director of another hospital 24 hours later.

Responding to requests to investigate the case outside the state, the Calcutta High Court raised concerns about the destruction of evidence and handed the case over to the federal crime agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The death of the young doctor has deeply affected the public and once again shown how vulnerable Indian women are to violence. The shock was made even greater by the fact that she was not alone out late in the dark, but at her workplace, where there was light and people.

In 2022, an average of 86 rapes were reported daily in India. Since the brutal gang rape and death of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi in 2012, Indians have grown tired of an all too familiar cycle: rape, outrage, promises of change, a return to “normal.”

This time, neither the Minister for Women and Child Development, Annapurna Devi, nor the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, made any statement.

Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research, said: “It makes my blood boil when I see this silence, when I read how he slaughtered her, this total disregard for security in the hospital. Nothing, nothing has changed since 2012. The room where it happened did not even have a CCTV camera.”

• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available on 1800Respect (1800 737 732). For more international helplines, visit ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html