Women ‘Reclaim the Night’ on the streets of Kolkata as country celebrates 78th Independence Day

KOLKATA: Thousands of people, especially women, took to the streets of Kolkata as part of a massive protest against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the city’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Chants of “We want justice!” flooded the streets of the city as people gathered in large numbers with placards.

“I had office for eleven hours today. But I still wanted to come. This is how a woman should feel at night, to walk freely and not get raped in a hospital room,” a woman participating in the protest said.

At the stroke of midnight, the protestors sang the national anthem to usher in the Independence Day.

The ‘reclaim the night movement’ had begun in Leeds in England in 1977 to reclaim the freedom for women to move in public spaces in the night. The first march on November 12, 1977 came in response to the Yorkshire ripper murders.

There had been protests to “reclaim the night” for women after the 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder and also in 2017 when women marched in 20 cities after mass molestation of women in Bengaluru.

On Wednesday, banners of the protest titled ‘Reclaim the Night’ had flooded social media ahead of people, urging people from all walks of life to participate in march from 11.55 pm as the country got ready to celebrate its 78th Independence Day at the stroke of midnight.

As an effort to boost the protest and help more engagement, the Kolkata Metro Railway had announced two extra pairs of trains running along the North-South corridor to help the protestors who wished to travel.

The protest that was reportedly initiated by a few women on social media in some small pockets of Kolkata. However, it soon gained a widespread appeal and was not limited to just Kolkata but to other parts of the state as well. It was also taken up by women and people across the country.

According to some media reports, protests are also being conducted around the world. Bengalis in Atlanta are coming together in solidarity with the mass protests across West Bengal. However, it was not held under the same banner.

The 31-year-old trainee doctor was brutally raped and then murdered as she was resting after a tiring day’s work in the seminar hall of the government hospital in the absence of a proper resting room.

According to the autopsy report, the woman was found semi-naked and was bleeding from her private parts. There was bleeding from both her eyes and severe injuries in her belly, legs, fingers and lips.

Doctors across the country were on the streets protesting and demanding justice for the victim. Hospitals in the country were brought to a halt as the doctors had observed a ‘ceasework’ with only the emergency departments being operational.

In recent developments, the Calcutta High Court had handed over the case to CBI for further investigation. One person has been arrested in connection to the case so far.

Group of outsiders vandalise RG Kar hospital

A group of 40-50 outsiders reportedly entered the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and indulged in vandalism during “women reclaim the night“ protest and vandalised it while venting their anger.

After the incident of rape and murder of a 31-year-old post graduate medical student, security inside the hospital was beefed up.

Questions have been raised as to why the vandalism took place despite police beefing up security inside the campus.

There were also question marks over who the outsiders were and how they could enter the premises and break the barricade.

The vandals entered the emergency ward and started to break up the hospital furniture. They also attacked doctors and the staff at the hospital.