Doctors and nursing staff are protesting against the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. (File Photo/PTI)
News18 spoke to Kolkata women at the forefront of the movement, whose posts have gone viral on social media and others have expressed their willingness to join the protests
Rimjhim Sinha, a former sociology researcher at Presidency University, Kolkata, is disgusted by the news of the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. She then decided to join the August 14 protest. She posted her thoughts on Facebook and it went viral. Many people shared the news on social media, with many women offering to join the protests.
On Friday, the half-naked body of a female PGT doctor, a second-year student in the thoracic department, was found in the seminar hall of the hospital. She was on duty Thursday night and suffered multiple injuries. Her father claimed she was raped and murdered inside the hospital after a preliminary autopsy report revealed she had been sexually abused before her murder.
Strikes and protests by junior doctors, trainees and medical students took place across the country on Tuesday, affecting health services.
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The HC criticized the West Bengal government and noted that the protesting doctors were hurt and they were justified in expressing their emotions. Students of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital said they agreed to hand over the case to the CBI but wanted a judicial inquiry.
Speaking to News18, Rimjhim said: “When I heard about the incident in RG Kar, I felt very insecure. It scares me to think about how safe we are in this city. If a female doctor on duty was How safe can all of us women entering this city be when we are forced to face such brutal injuries and deaths? August 15th is our Independence Day, so I thought I would do a sit-in then and seek to challenge the current system. Make constructive structural changes. Why shouldn't women have the right to go out at night? Why is our role being questioned every time? From midnight on August 15, we will take back the night.
Rimjhim said she never expected such a huge response. Now she plans to promote the movement through a series of demands:
- Immediate justice for the victims.
- Make gender equality a compulsory subject in school curricula now.
- Ensure an overnight transport system for working women and other marginalized gender groups.
- Assign safe restrooms to all professionals on night duty.
Veteran journalist Aditi Roy also posted about the heinous crime on social media and received an overwhelming response. “Whenever a crime like this occurs, the victim is always questioned. Why is she wandering around? Why is she wearing this? Should we sit at home? Why can't we go out at night? Nights are only for men?
Are we really independent? Why do mothers tell girls not to go out at night, but not boys? All these questions are on our minds. So we thought we'd spend the evening of August 14th and 15th hanging out and questioning our freedoms. We got a huge response. This is a start, but we have to have this protest,” Roy told News18.
A number of celebrities, intellectuals, housewives and other women are expected to join the protests.
