On August 9, a 31-year-old resident doctor was brutally raped and killed at a medical faculty in Kolkata. According to colleagues, she should have gone to bed to rest in a room during a 36-hour work shift when she was attacked. A man has been detained in connection with the case. While AP and Reuters write that the man worked as a volunteer for the police, the BBC writes that the man was a volunteer at the hospital itself. Photo: AP The killing has sent shockwaves through India, sparking a wave of national outrage against widespread violence against women. Large protests have spread from Kolkata to cities like New Dehli, Mumbai and Pune. At the forefront are doctors, students and other health personnel. National support On Saturday, health personnel across the country stopped working on non-emergency services, and public hospitals have refused to accept patients who do not have a critical need for health care. . Indian protesters in Mumbai after a female doctor was killed at work in Kolkata. One of the signs reads “She saved lives, but who protected her?”. Photo: AP Many still refuse to go back to work. In some hospitals, non-urgent procedures have been stopped indefinitely. They are demanding that the government introduce a previously proposed law to protect health workers from violence. Thousands of supporters, including women’s groups, football supporters, Bollywood stars and student organisations, have joined the protests. – I have a daughter myself, and I am afraid to send her to study. I am here today because something must be done. This injustice must be stopped, a protester told Reuters. The football clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are arch rivals. On the night of Monday, supporters still march together in solidarity with the doctors. Photo: AFP Around 38 percent of India’s health workers are women, according to a WHO report from 2016. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) refers to the murder of the woman as a “crime of barbaric proportions”. To the BBC, the association’s president says that health personnel have been exposed to violence for years. The killing at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital has sparked national outrage in India. Last week the emergency department at the hospital was vandalized. Photo: AFP On Monday, doctors gathered outside RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the incident happened. – We are determined not to give in to pressure to keep quiet. The protests will continue until we get justice, says the female doctor Shreya Shaw to journalists at the scene, according to France24. Large numbers of darkness – In the misery, this movement is something very positive. The protests and rage are a sign that the population no longer accepts that this is happening, says Anne Waldrop, professor of development studies at Oslo Met. Several have drawn parallels to the Nirbhaya case from 2012, when a 23-year-old student was gang-raped and killed on a bus in the capital, New Delhi. Even then there were huge reactions, and the incident became a turning point in the fight for tougher laws. It also increased the focus on women’s safety in the public space. – The fact that there have been such strong protests again now, I think is because this happened at a workplace in a public hospital. It is unsustainable that health workers who are supposed to help others do not have security in their workplace. It also shows the difficult conditions they work in, with long shifts and a lack of safe places to rest, says Waldrop. Anne Waldrop is professor of development studies at Oslo Met. Photo: The University of Oslo and Akershus In 2022, over 31,500 rapes of women were registered, according to the country’s statistics agency. Compared to the population in India, the percentage is not much higher than, for example, Norway. However, the dark figures are large, says Waldrop. – Most of the violence happens in the home, and not in public spaces. It is very difficult to know whether the numbers are increasing because more people are reporting now than before, or whether it is happening more often. Nevertheless, she is careful to say that India is characterized by a “rape culture”. – It may sound like rape is common and accepted, but the protests show precisely that this is something that the vast majority react strongly to, and that it goes against their values. It is difficult to point to concrete reasons for violence against women in the country. But women’s views can be a possible factor, according to the professor. Demonstrators protest in New Delhi. Photo: Adnan Abidi / Reuters – Although things have improved over the years, many female fetuses are still aborted because they would rather have a son. This is often explained by the fact that it is men who carry on the family name and who look after the family. Many would argue, however, that the underlying reason is that women are considered to have lower value than men, says Waldrop. – It is possible that some of these attitudes contribute to such abuse. The Supreme Court takes action The murder has triggered a political war of words in West Bengal. The opposition party BJP accuses the ruling party TMC of being behind the attack. The TMC has rejected this, writes the BBC. – I certainly think the authorities take this seriously, but it will also be a political game. The hope is that the protests can increase awareness among the population and improve the conditions for health workers, says Waldrop. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also condemned the attack. Photo: Reuters India’s Supreme Court has chosen to get involved in the case on its own initiative, and appointed a working group to make recommendations on safety for healthcare personnel. On Tuesday, they also ordered that the murdered woman’s name and photos be removed from the Indian media. The demonstrations have largely been peaceful. Indian media nevertheless report on some clashes between demonstrators and the police. Photo: AFP – Protecting doctors’ safety is a matter of national interest. The nation cannot wait for another rape before taking action, says the head of the court Dhananjaya Chandrachud. Published 20.08.2024, at 19.44
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Large protests after the killing of a doctor in India – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
