Indian health workers began a nationwide strike on Saturday to protest the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a government hospital in the eastern state of West Bengal.
Saturday’s strike was called by the country’s largest doctors’ group, the Indian Medical Association, which said all non-essential services in hospitals would be shut down across the country for 24 hours.
The work suspension has affected thousands of patients across India. Protests – led mainly by women – have intensified in recent days, demanding a safer work environment.
Here’s what you need to know.
A doctor in training was killed.
On August 9, police found the bloodied body of the 31-year-old junior doctor in the seminar room of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in eastern Kolkata.
A police volunteer working at the hospital was arrested in connection with the crime, but the victim’s family claims it was a gang rape and that other people were involved. An autopsy confirmed that there was sexual assault.
The case is under federal investigation after state government officials were accused of mishandling the probe.
On Wednesday night, thousands of women across the country took to the streets, demanding justice for the victim as they took part in “Reclaim The Night” marches. Some protesters called for the perpetrators to be sentenced to death.
Protesters want justice and security
Thousands of health workers across India are demanding justice for the victim and a guarantee of safety for doctors and paramedics at hospitals and medical campuses. Many have suspended all but emergency treatment, with more such strikes planned for the weekend.
Doctors say the attack highlights the vulnerability of doctors working without adequate security facilities in hospitals and medical campuses across India.
The Indian Medical Association has appealed for public support in what it calls a fight for justice and described the killing as “a crime of sheer barbarity due to the lack of safe spaces for women.” Doctors are also demanding stricter laws to protect them from violence, including making assault on doctors on duty a non-bailable offence.
Sexual violence against women is a widespread problem in India.
In India, many cases of crimes against women go unreported because of the stigma surrounding sexual violence and a lack of trust in the police. Women’s rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where the community sometimes shames victims of sexual assault and families worry about their social status.
Yet the number of rape cases recorded in the country has been increasing. In 2022, police recorded 31,516 rape reports, a 20% increase from 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
In 2012, the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus sparked mass protests across India. The incident prompted lawmakers to order harsher sentences for such crimes and create fast-track courts for rape cases. The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders.
The 2013 rape law amendment also criminalised harassment and voyeurism and lowered the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.
