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In 1973, Aruna Shanbaug, a 25-year-old nurse at KEM Hospital, was raped and strangled to death with a dog chain by a cleaner, leaving her in a vegetative state. (Getty)
A nurse at KEM Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told News18 that the RG Kar case, in which a young doctor was tortured and murdered, has raised questions about the safety of women in the workplace.
The heinous rape and murder of a young doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital has brought renewed attention to the working conditions and inadequate safety and security of female hospital staff, where doctors and nurses are both vulnerable.
It also stirred memories of a nurse who was brutally attacked at work years ago – a case that changed the trajectory of the country.
It was 1973, and Aruna Shanbaug, a 25-year-old nurse at KEM Hospital, came to the duty room in the basement of the hospital. It was here that a cleaner named Valmiki accosted her and raped her. However, the atrocities did not end there. She was strangled with a dog chain and left in pain. When hospital staff found her, her spinal cord had been severed and she had been in a vegetative state for 24 hours. Hospital nurses cared for Schanbaugh until a landmark Supreme Court decision allowed her relief by passive euthanasia, forever changing the country's legal and moral discourse.
Schanbaugh's death and the love and care she received from other nurses – many of whom joined the hospital years after she was raped – have raised some questions about nurses' safety on the job.
I remember going to hospitals to report and many of the nurses I spoke to told me that they were afraid to even go to the basement for fear that “the same thing would happen to us.” Over the years, KEM Hospital has moved changing rooms and duty rooms to upstairs areas where security measures are better.
When Shambaugh was attacked, there was no concept of CCTV cameras. Although the culprit was caught, the nurses who cared for Schanbaugh said that “the process of justice is punishment.” “We cared for her, often wondering if we would be next or if we would be safe. Our families asked us to give up our jobs, but Aruna's condition strengthened our determination to get better facilities.
More than 50 years later, the RG Kar case has once again raised questions about how safe the workplace for nurse practitioners and female physicians is, given that this is a job that brings them face-to-face with people. “It can also mean an outrageous moment when things can go wrong,” said a nurse at KEM Hospital.
Schanbaugh's case was also one in which she rejected the janitor's offer. Valmiki denied at the time that he raped or sodomized Shanbaugh, who was menstruating. He was initially released after being sentenced to seven years in prison, but was later caught up.
The nurse on duty at that time told me that Valmiki often proposed to Shanbaug, but she always rejected her. This is believed to have angered him and he was stalking her daily activities.
The 25-year-old's ordeal, her long wait for justice and the verdict that changed the euthanasia debate were documented in a book called “Bitter Chocolate” by her petitioner, Pinky Virani.
A nurse at the hospital, who asked not to be named, told News18 that the RG Kar incident had once again brought the same fear to the community. “Women at work, whether they are nurses or doctors, work hard because it is a noble profession. But when we hear about the condition of RG Kar victims, I wonder if this is really the case since the Aruna incident Something has changed,” she said.
With protests taking place across the country and a CBI probe into the Kolkata Answers case, many are reliving Shanbaug's moment as it brings to mind a lingering question – women at work How safe is it?
