Under the cry “Jin, Jiyan Azadi”, women in India are increasingly protesting against the rape and murder of a young doctor

The Rape and murder of a 31-year-old junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in the early hours of August 9 has sparked widespread outrage and frustration across India.

Protesters gathered near Parliament in New Delhi, holding signs demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice. Similar protests broke out in Kolkata – the capital of West Bengal, where the crime took place – as well as other major cities such as Mumbai and Hyderabad. In Kolkata, women waved signs reading “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi' (Woman, Life, Liberty) and calls for justice and a safer environment for women.

The protests, which were largely peaceful, began on August 9, when police found the blood-soaked body of the young doctor in the seminar room of the state hospital in Calcutta.

In India sexual violence and rape have reached epidemic proportions, threatening the safety and future of women and girls. This crisis is exacerbated by a culture of impunity, silence and victim blaming that normalises such acts.

In 2022 alone reported On average, 90 rapes are committed every day. The true scale of the problem is probably much greater when you consider the many cases that go unreported.

The slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi”, which first became popular in Kurdistan and European countries during the battle of Kobane against ISIS, has since mobilised women worldwide, including in Iran after the murder by Jina Amini. It is up to Pretoria in South Africa and the Basque CountryNow this slogan unites and mobilizes women in India in their fight against injustice.