(Dokholey niyechhi rasta-ghaat, bhnagley ghum melao haath)
by MASHA HASSAN
Our curfew starts as soon as the sunlight starts to fade away. Palpitations rise, hyper vigilant and suspicious eyes carefully keeps a watch on mostly non lighted, dark streets and trespassers, usually a pepper spray ready in our bags. After the 2021 Nirbhaya (a pseudonym used to protect the identity) brutal gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy intern in Delhi, women all over India were assured that the night is not theirs, by then, the anxiety of traveling alone after sunset was deeply ingrained.
We have yet again found ourselves at the peak of anger and frustration. This time in Kolkata. An on-duty doctor at RG Kar Hospital was raped and murdered on the 9th of August while she was resting in the seminar room. Abhaya’s (pseudonym) postmortem report revealed that she succumbed to multiple injuries including fractures of collar bones.
This heinous crime has rekindled collective traumas of the everyday news of rape in India which has now led to massive and powerful protests. Indian Medical Association declared a 24-hour halt on all medical services on the 17th of August where around one million doctors went on a nationwide strike, where doctors from both private and government hospitals participated. These protests commenced from various hospitals in different cities such as AIIMS Delhi, Safdarjung Hospital Delhi, Lady Hardinge Medical College, RML Hospital, Calcutta Medical College and RG Kar Medical Hospital and college Kolkatta.
On the 13th of August around 8000 healthcare workers in Maharashtra had suspended all work except for emergency care, although the doctors recently resumed healthcare services and called off the strike, some medical professionals still cease work until their demands are met and a thorough investigation has taken place, making sure that the perpetrators are arrested. The protest has shaped into a mass movement where sexual and gender minorities from various sectors have joined from diverse urban and rural areas in order to continue their fight under the banner of ‘Reclaim the Night’.
“There is no particular leader for these protests, in West Bengal and elsewhere in India, women, workers, students are reclaiming the night in their own ways, when the call was out on the night of the 13th of August we were not expecting that so many people would show up, but there were thousands of us, around or more than 30,000 screaming and demanding for justice” exclaimed Intisar Ahmed during our conversation about the protests. Sharing her experience during the Reclaim the Night march she added: “We specifically wanted to organize and collaborate with LGBTQ+ people and told the cis men who wanted to attend to act as allies and not hijack the protest, unfortunately, men tried to harass us even during these protests” ……
“Hospitals like RG Kar are government hospitals and therefore remain overcrowded. Since the medical facilities are free or has minimal charges, people from villages and town areas come to these hospitals for treatment. If you ever go to these government hospitals you will find a constant rush at the OPD. There is extreme exploitation of healthcare workers, nurses, and intern doctors who sometimes end up doing nightshifts of 48 hours……there is no space to rest in between shifts also there is no proper provision of bathrooms, men and women have to share the toilets and many a times the locks/latches are either broken or they are not there at all” said Ahmed, an activist from Kolkata who has been organizing and participating in the ‘reclaim the night’ protests in Barasat, a one hour distance from the RG Kar hospital.
In the Economic Survey of 2023-24, the Union government was being highly praised for its many achievements, mainly pointing out at the changes brought in the Indian health system, but this is far from the reality. The expenditure on health care and its infrastructure has been stagnant, a closer look into the Economic survey reveals that the total percentage of expenditure on health has only been 1% in the year 2022-23. One good example that exposed these fault lines is Covid 19 where the Indian health system quickly crumbled, from shortage of medical oxygen supplies to hospital beds, health workers were pushed to their limit.
In 2015 the Indian Medical Association conducted a survey that revealed that 75% of doctors had experienced some sort of violence while they were on duty, where women make up nearly 30% of India’s doctors and represent 80% of its nursing workforce. The gender disparity in India’s medical profession has always existed, this disproportionate ratio might have decreased with time but is still very much prevalent. This is due to a culmination of preconceived gender roles mostly driven by rigid cultural, social, and structural values. Female doctors and care workers have faced distinct challenges, especially safety concerns. They have been prone to physical, verbal, and emotional violence in the workplace. Several cases of sexual harassment and discrimination faced by female medics go unreported within the work environment which then leads them to quit their jobs silently.
DESH KI NAARI ROOTHI HAI, YE AZAADI JHOOTHI HAI (The women of our country are angry, this freedom is a fallacy)
Outraged by Dr Sandeep Ghosh’s victim-blaming statement, Rimjhim Sinha, a social science researcher from Jadavpur University, urged people to take action on the eve of Independence Day through a Facebook post. Dr Ghosh, the then principal of RG Kar Medical College, questioned why the junior doctor had gone alone to the seminar room at night. Sinha called for a symbolic act of spending the nights of August 14th and 15th outside, to remember the countless women who were brutally raped and murdered during the partition of India and Pakistan, where their bodies became sites of violence. Marching at night on August 14th was intended to challenge the notion of freedom in India, asking: freedom for whom?
Motivated by these protests many women/queer/trans* from different neighborhoods and work areas have raised concerns about safety and security based on their personal experiences, talking about specific and detailed problems in their local areas.
“When I stayed at South Kolkata, I worked as a project fellow, at 11:30 or 12 PM the street lamps were always lighted but in Barasat where I am from, I have to call my father from the train station to pick me up because there are no street lights and the tutus and rickshaw drivers are drunk so it is not safe to commute by yourself….this made me realize why not organize ‘reclaim the night’ in/from Barasat which is one hour from the RG Kar hospital when the women of my area also do not feel safe? Why not seize the night in Barasat?” …….. “When we went to speak at the Barasat police station to get an official permit for the reclaim the night march, the police officers suggested that maybe it is better to start the protest march at 5 pm instead of 9 pm….they said 9 pm is too late but that was the whole point, to be able to walk on the streets fearlessly during those hours which are deemed unsafe”, Ahmed re accounts.
The desire to reclaim the night reverberated in many parts of the world including India, first in 2012 and then in 2017 under the banner “Bekhauf Azaadi March” (fearless freedom march). The call to seize the night has become even louder this year
The history of seizing the nights started in Leeds in 1977. This was part of the Women’s Liberation movement, a protest against the Yorkshire Ripper murders and against the hypocritical advisory of the police who had asked the women to stay indoors during the night if they wanted to remain safe. The government of West Bengal has also suggested somewhat similar advisories, replicating that of Leeds. One of the provided solutions to gender-based violence is to control the presence of women in public spaces. The government suggests reducing or completely eliminating the night duties of female doctors and installation of CCTV cameras that will also result in increased surveillance. This is entirely contrary to the demands of the Reclaim the Night movement. Nivedita Menon rightly responds to these ‘advisories’ by raising further questions and asks, if the women are denied night duties, who will attend to female patients who specifically ask/require treatment from only female doctors during the night? In this case, will the treatment be denied? At the same time what about the safety and security of nurses, the housekeeping staff, and the women staff working in hospitals? What about The ASHA workers (midwives) who often tend to women in labor during the night? What about their security and safety?
The push for increased police presence and intensified surveillance stems from a savior complex instead of a thorough comprehension of gender politics. To resist forms of state surveillance disguised as safety and security is a necessity, be it in hospitals or campuses. The extensive involvement of police in these institutions has a possibility of damaging the natural relationships between doctor-patient and student-teacher. The state government also promoted helplines but these helplines already existed still incidents like R.G Kar Hospital occurred, which means that these measures are not sufficient.
পিতৃতন্ত্র Pitr̥tantra (patriarchy)
Among these 17 measures that are said to be introduced by the government, it includes an app called the Ratri saathi (night buddy) app. This consists of a special security force that will be provided in case of need and emergencies. The main criticism and disappointment of this proposed technology that there is no mention of the safety of queer and trans individuals who have participated equally in this movement in West Bengal. But the bigger question is if this technology and special security will also work against powerful men and politicians such as Brij Bhushan Singh who was accused of sexual harassment by Indian female wrestlers that led to massive protests at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Will this security force take action against BJP party leaders and members of parliament who are accused of rape such as Prajwal Ravenna?
All these initiatives of protectionism unfortunately do not address the main culprit which is the deeply entrenched patriarchy of our society. Hate speeches by BJP politicians and supporters against Muslim women during election campaigns and religious processions, openly asking to rape them, is what contributes to and incites gender-based violence and crime. Questioning the cheap and divisive electioneering, women’s rights activist wrote an open letter in 2020 addressed to the prime minister Narender Modi, asking, ‘Vote for BJP or you will get raped! Is this your election message to Delhi’s women?’.
A report by a team of human rights activists and advocates disclosed how the police in many parts of India have been found guilty of high negligence and shielding upper caste men who are accused of rape and sexual assault. This reminds us of the Hathras case in BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh when a 19-year-old Dalit girl was gang raped by rich upper-caste Thakur men, the police tried to destroy the evidence by burning the victim’s body in the dead of the night but also refused to arrest the rapists. The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath who has several pending criminal cases against him, was obligated to act due to public outcry. However, the victims family never received justice as the judiciary released the four accused.
Instead of justice, all protestors and dissenting voices against the rape culture in India have been met with batons, water cannons, and tear gas, this includes the recent protests in Kolkata where the silencing and criminalization of these voices by the state government is a clear indication that you can sexually harass and rape that too with impunity. While the central government lauds on its record number of women ministers in the parliament, however women politicians like Smriti Irani have been mouthpieces for the BJP government, defending its patriarchal mindset. Irani who heads the Ministry for Women and Child Development, has verbally attacked victims who publicly speak out against sexual violence, accusing them of being anti-national and defaming the government. Smriti Irani has also been a mute spectator to the ethnic conflict in the BJP-ruled state Manipur where women’s bodies have been subjected to rape, humiliation, and atrocities.
Justice seems to be unimaginable in a Hindu supremacist government, a party that is rooted in maintaining a Hindu upper-caste hegemony. It is therefore important to highlight these previous cases implying how India’s judicial system is no longer autonomous. The protestors are well aware that the chief opposition party in West Bengal is the BJP government is instrumentalizing this incident to launch their own political agenda: The resignation of the current Chief Minister of West Bengal. The slogan of this movement is: Ek dafa, dabi ek/ Mukhomantri’r Padotyag’ (There is only one demand, the CM should resign.)
“Can we please make sure that we keep saying no to the BJP as we get ready to eradicate TMC? We don’t need any of these fascist governments in power over here. I’m already noticing communal misbelief and other evil propaganda from the BJP have started to penetrate the revolution. We must stand together and prevent it by any means.
Remember, don’t invite another evil to your doors in order to get rid of this evil. It’s been enough! WE DO NOT WANT A BJP GOVERNMENT HERE!” (Facebook post by an activist)
“We want to make one thing clear, we do not want that Mamata Banerjee resigns as the Chief Minister but to resign as the health minister because she has failed…..we are well aware that for the BJP this incident is a green light but we have not forgotten what happened with Bilkis Banu* and how her rapists were greeted with garlands and sweets” said Ahmed as she informed that BJP workers are trying to take over the reclaim the night protests in an attempt to overthrow the TMC government in West Bengal.
*Narender Modi, the Prime Minister of India had approved the early release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Banu case who had gang raped a pregnant Muslim woman and murdered 14 members of her family during the 2002 anti-muslim riots in the Indian state of Gujarat.
In the year 2022 around 31,000 rapes were reported that means a 12% increase from 2020. These statistics are only a tip of the iceberg where most cases remain hidden inside dusty files or go entirely unreported because of the fear of further stigmatization or also the threat of being killed by the accused. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of 2019, 10 minor girls and Dalit women are raped every day in India. The NCRB further reports that there has been a surge in the rape cases of Dalit women in India, almost 45%.
The protests in Kolkata have garnered significant attention and clamour, primarily because the incident took place inside a prestigious setting—a hospital—and involved a doctor, a profession that is highly revered in India, where doctors are often regarded as gods. However, it is essential to acknowledge that many other rape cases, especially involving Dalit or tribal individuals are often sidelined and do not provoke similar public rage. This is because of societal biases and as mentioned before in the article, the broken justice systems which shields upper caste and powerful men.
Previous incidents of how rape cases were dealt by the court, law enforcement and what has happened in Kolkata transcends the medical fraternity, it is a stark reflection of the pervasive patriarchy that sustains as well as reinforces gender-based violence. It raises critical questions on what is fundamentally wrong within our societies that perpetuate these acts of violence. It compels us to grapple with deeper societal issues: Whose pain do we recognize and bring to light? What criteria determine if a case is taken seriously or not? Which cases do we choose to advocate for or overlook? Most crucially, it challenges us to reflect on how we genuinely decide to prepare ourselves in order to conduct meaningful change and confront this unequal and unjust system that is complicit in allowing such violence. To strengthen our fight against patriarchal violence it is paramount that all voices from the margins and the forcefully silenced also remain at the forefront of this battle.
