Tens of thousands protest in India over doctor's murder
Last week, a doctor was found dead in an Indian hospital. Her body was mutilated, and an autopsy confirmed she had been raped. After tens of thousands took to the streets, hospital staff nationwide have announced a strike.
Following the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in India, her colleagues nationwide have announced expanded strikes. "We are escalating our protests to demand justice for our colleague," said Dr. Suvrankar Datta at the state-run AIIMS hospital in the capital, New Delhi. The Indian Medical Association called for a 24-hour nationwide shutdown of services in private hospitals starting Saturday.
The 31-year-old doctor was found dead at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on August 9, her body badly mutilated. An autopsy confirmed she had been raped. Her family believes it was a gang rape, according to Indian broadcaster NDTV.
The violent crime sparked nationwide protests: on Monday, employees of state-run hospitals in several regions of India began partial shutdowns. In Kolkata, tens of thousands have taken to the streets since Wednesday, accusing authorities of not investigating thoroughly enough. So far, police have arrested one suspect.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the crime to be swiftly solved on Thursday. "Monstrous behavior towards women should be punished harshly and swiftly," Modi said. Under pressure from massive protests against inadequate protection of women from sexual assault, the government has toughened penalties for rape in recent years. A recent criminal law amendment allows rapists to be sentenced to death.
90 Rapes per Day
Sexual violence against women is widespread in India. In 2022, the country of 1.4 billion people recorded an average of nearly 90 rapes per day. Many cases go unreported due to victim stigmatization and lack of trust in police and courts. Convictions for rape remain rare, and trials often drag on for years.
In 2012, the brutal gang rape of an Indian student in New Delhi sparked global outrage. The 23-year-old Jyoti Singh was attacked, raped, and beaten with an iron rod in a bus by six men. They then threw her out of the bus, severely injured. She later died in a hospital from her injuries.
In response to the recent rape and murder of a doctor in India, healthcare professionals across the country have escalated their protests, calling for justice. "We are increasing our protests to seek justice for our colleague," stated Dr. Suvrankar Datta at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi. This horrific crime, which involved mutilation and gang rape, according to the victim's family, has sparked widespread protests in several regions of India, with tens of thousands in Kolkata taking to the streets since Wednesday.
