Left-affiliated women groups in India’s West Bengal province have called for statewide night vigil protests on August 14 demanding justice for the woman medical staff raped and killed last week on duty in one of the public hospitals in Kolkata. The protests called “The night is ours” or “women reclaim the night” also aims to reclaim public spaces for women at night.
The call for the night vigil was issued jointly by All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Student Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), all left-wing women and youth organizations. It has received support from several other organizations from all across India who have also decided to organize similar night vigils in other cities on the eve of the country’s independence day.
It also received support from several workers’ unions such as taxi drivers in Kolkata who decided to run taxis in the night to support those participating in the night vigil.
The left-wing organizations have been at the fore of the protests for justice and accountability in the rape and murder of the 31-year-old woman doctor. The unnamed victim was on night duty at the government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal when she was brutally raped and murdered. Her body was discovered on Friday, August 9.
The left groups launched an indefinite sit-in in front of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital following the state government’s initial reluctance to take immediate actions to apprehend the culprits. The protesters have alleged that the state government led by Mamta Baneerjee of the TrinaMool Congress (TMC) was trying to shield the perpetrators of the crime.
Protest against the brutal murder and rape of an on-duty trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata. Mamata’s police & Authorities are attempting to cover-up the case as Hathras. Today CPIM organized protests across Bengal, met with police brutality.
The fight continues. pic.twitter.com/N4Wm98qhQz— Mayukh Biswas (@MayukhDuke) August 10, 2024
Protesters also highlighted the increased number of violent incidents involving women in the state under Banerjee’s government. They have demanded the resignation of the authorities responsible for law and order in the state.
Talking to Peoples Dispatch, Maimoona Mollah, president of Delhi AIDWA emphasized that the call for the night vigil goes beyond the concerns for justice in one particular case. It is an attempt to secure safe work spaces for all working women and also for all women who wish to be outside or in transit for whatever reason at night. They must not be fearful in exercising their fundamental rights to movement, she said.
Shehba Farooqui, vice president of AIDWA in Delhi, underlined that there has been a long history of night vigil protests undertaken by the women’s movement in India and it should be seen as a part of that larger movement to make public spaces safer. The patriarchal system which restricts the freedom of movement for women by threatening their bodies needs to be confronted with collective defiance by women, she said.
When injustice becomes law, resistance is our duty.
Protest erupts against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee female doctor at RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata! While TMC govt is trying to cover up the brutal crime like Yogi’s Hathras!
Shame!#BengalBleeds #RGKAR pic.twitter.com/8JlW0SgQlF— Mayukh Biswas (@MayukhDuke) August 12, 2024
Health workers demand protection and accountability
Many of the actions protesting the femicide in Kolkata have also been organized by health workers themselves. Resident doctors of the hospital organized several actions to demand that the government take action against the principal of the hospital who they accuse of failing to provide adequate security to the staff. The hospital’s medical staff escalated their actions to a strike to demand his removal and succeeded in forcing the principal Sandip Ghosh to resign. However, within hours, the government reappointed him as a principal of another medical college in the city.
Supporting the agitation of the RG Kar doctors, several medical staff unions across the country called for demonstrations and strikes on Monday and Tuesday. They have been demanding a speedy inquiry in the RG Kar incident and action against the hospital administration.
On Tuesday, one of the major doctor unions, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) suspended its protest following assurances from the federal health minister. However, several other unions such as Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) have decided to continue the strike until their demands are met.
