MUMBAI: Indian medical professionals initiated a 24-hour shutdown of non-emergency services countrywide on Saturday to protest the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata. The shutdown, which started at 6 a.m. (0030 GMT), will halt access to elective medical procedures and outpatient consultations in the world’s most populous country, according to a statement from the Indian Medical Association. Emergency services, including casualty departments in hospitals, will remain operational.
The protest was sparked by the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor last week inside a medical college in Kolkata where she worked. This incident has ignited widespread protests among doctors and has drawn comparisons to the horrific gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in 2012.
Frustration over the inability of strict laws to prevent the growing violence against women has fueled these protests by doctors and women’s advocacy groups. “Women make up the majority of our profession in this country. We have repeatedly asked for their safety,” IMA President R. V. Asokan told Reuters on Friday. Over a million medical professionals were expected to participate in the strike.
India has seen huge rise in crimes against women in 2022, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Doctors in overcrowded and underfunded government hospitals have long voiced concerns about their safety, citing overwork, underpayment, and frequent violence from frustrated patients and their families. This latest tragedy has intensified the calls for a safer environment for women across all walks of life in India.
