Indian doctors stage nationwide strike over rape and murder of colleague

NEW DELHI

Indian doctors began a nationwide strike on Saturday, escalating protests following the “barbaric” rape and murder of their colleague and expressing outrage over the chronic problem of violence against women.

Class=”cf”>

The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor's blood-soaked body on August 9 in a government hospital in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta sparked violent protests in several cities across the country.

Many of these protests were led by doctors and other healthcare workers, joined by tens of thousands of ordinary Indians demanding action.

In Calcutta, thousands held a candlelight vigil until the early hours of Saturday morning.

“Hands that heal should not bleed,” read a handwritten sign held by a protester in the eastern city.

“Enough is enough,” said another at a rally of doctors in the capital New Delhi.

“Hang the rapist,” demanded another sign.

The murdered doctor was found in the seminar room of the university hospital, suggesting that she had gone there to rest during a 36-hour shift.

Class=”cf”>

An autopsy confirmed the sexual abuse and in a petition to the court the victim's parents stated that they suspected their daughter had been the victim of a gang rape.

A man who worked at the hospital helping people navigate long lines was arrested.

However, an angry public accused the Kolkata police of mishandling the case, and the city's High Court then transferred the investigation to India's top Central Bureau of Investigation to “increase public confidence.”

On Monday, doctors at government hospitals in several states suspended their scheduled services “indefinitely.” The strikes were supported by numerous doctors’ unions in both the public and private sectors.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) escalated the protests on Saturday morning with a 24-hour “nationwide withdrawal of services” and the suspension of all non-essential procedures.

“We ask for the nation's understanding and support in this fight for justice for its doctors and daughters,” IMA chief RV Asokan said in a statement ahead of the strike.

The IMA described the murder as “barbaric”.

“The 36-hour shift the victim worked and the lack of safe resting places… call for a thorough review of the working and living conditions of junior doctors,” the IMA said.

Doctors are demanding the implementation of the Central Protection Act, a law to protect healthcare workers from violence.

Class=”cf”>

“There is a lack of proper infrastructure,” said 29-year-old Akanksha Tyagi, a junior doctor at Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, who took part in one of the numerous protests across the country.

“After working 24 to 36 hours straight, there is no real place for us to rest,” she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for swift punishment for those who commit “monstrous” acts against women.

Sexual violence against women is a widespread problem in India. In 2022, nearly 90 rapes were reported every day in the country of 1.4 billion people.

Class=”cf”>

The cruelty of the attack on the hospital has drawn comparisons with the horrific gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in Delhi in 2012.

This woman became a symbol of socially conservative India’s failure to combat sexual violence against women.

Her death sparked huge and sometimes violent demonstrations in Delhi and elsewhere.

Under pressure, the government introduced harsher penalties for rapists, including the death penalty for repeat offenders.

In addition, several new sexual offences have been introduced, such as stalking, and officers who refuse to take rape reports now face prison sentences.