Indian Doctors Strike Over Rape and Murder of Young Colleague
Health Systems 19/08/2024 •
Indian doctors on strike nationally in protest against the rape and murder of a colleague while on duty.

Indian doctors held a 24-hour national strike over the weekend to protest the rape and murder of a young female doctor in a hospital in Kolkata, demanding better protection for health workers.

Around one million health workers were estimated to have supported the strike. Some junior doctors remain on strike, saying that they will not return to work until the authorities meet their safety demands.

The bloodied body of 31-year-old Dr Moumita Debnath was found in a seminar room in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on 9 August. 

An inquest report confirmed sexual assault, and her family wrote in a court petition that they believed she had been gang raped. She had been on duty at the time of her murder.

Following protests by junior doctors and medical residents after the discovery of Debnath’s body, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) called for a 24-hour “nationwide withdrawal of services” and the suspension of all non-essential procedures over the weekend.

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

In a letter to India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the IMA called for a Central Act outlawing violence and damage to property at health facilities and for the security at health facilities to be as tight as airports.

“The 36-hour duty shift that the victim was in and the lack of safe spaces to rest… warrant a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of the resident doctors,” added the IMA in the letter.

According to the IMA, 60% of doctors and 85% of nurses in the country are female. An IMA study found that 75% of doctors have faced abuse, usually verbal, while at work, according to The Times of India.

the weekend protests took the form of marches, demonstrations and a 3km human chain of health workers in Kolkata, near the site of the attack. 

Despite its impact on patients, the action has had substantial public support. Supporters of the two biggest soccer clubs in West Bengal, the state where the attack took place, united in a march on Sunday evening to demand justice for Debnath and protection for doctors.

This Thursday, women in the state of West Bengal have called a “Reclaim the Night” march beginning at midnight, according to The Hindustan Times. The protest will coincide with the official start of India’s Independence Day.

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