A 31 year old female resident doctor was found tragically raped and murdered within the premises of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta on the morning of 9th August, 2024. The horrific incident sparked widespread outrage and protests accross the nation, drawing attention to the safety of healthcare professionals, and the plight of women.
Women across West Bengal and India are taking a stand against gender-based violence by participating in the “Reclaim the Night” protest tonight, August 14th, at 11:55 PM. People regardless of their gender, but primarily women, will get out on the streets and attend protests happening in various places throughout the state and the country.
One such protest is taking place in Galleria Mall, Hirananadani Garden of Powai, a residential suburb located in central Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. We spoke to two of the organisers of the protest, Kingkini Chattopadhyay and Moumita Sarkar. Kingkini shared, “We have a huge Bengali community here. When we learned of this gruesome incident, all of us started looking into protests happening here in Mumbai. We learned of some in Andheri West and Navi Mumbai, but we’ve decided to have a silent protest ourselves to show solidarity.”
They shared that many people tend to express their desire to organise local protests but there’s seldom anyone volunteering when the time comes to take action. “We spoke to all of our seniors in our association and with permission from the local police, a lot of us are gathering for the silent protest tonight. Non-bengalis are also taking initiative and showing solidarity.”
Moumita added, “The police have showed their utmost support towards our peaceful protest.” She said that it’s important to stand beside the victim’s family. “I think it’s equally important to teach our sons the basics of consent and solidarity from a very young age to make sure our future generations don’t go through the same tragedy.”
The silent protest in Powai starts at 11 PM tonight and is expected to go on for an hour. More than a 100 people are expected to show up. They’ve even set a ‘no phones allowed’ rule. “We want to carry on with this protest as peacefully as possible. We don’t want people taking selfies and making a mockery out of a situation as serious as this one. It’s important that we show our utmost solidarity to women and healthcare professionals. Our country needs to rise up.”
Moumita concludes that her, Kingkini, Tridib Saha and Sanchita Pal might have spearheaded the protest but the entirety of Powai is connected and is showing support towards this cause.
