"Reclaim The Night": Women Seek Justice In Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case, Hold Massive Protests

Women in Kolkata, several parts of Bengal, and across cities in the country hit the streets tonight in protest against the horrific rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The incident has shaken the country and triggered nationwide protests. At demonstrations in medical colleges and hospitals across the country, doctors have demanded security on duty.

The protests across cities began at 11.55 pm. It has been described as, "For women's independence on the midnight of independence".

Posters sharing locations of the protest were being shared on social media, with new spots being added as more and more people across Bengal's suburbs joined. In fact, the protest, which has been named, "Women, reclaim the night", is also being staged outside Delhi's AIIMS and Chittaranjan Park.

Earlier, 'reclaim the night' protests were organised in various parts of the country in the aftermath of the 2012 gang-rape and murder in Delhi.

How It All Started?

According to reports in Bengali media, researcher Rimjhim Sinha was the first to give a call for 'reclaim the night' protest in the wake of the RG Kar incident. In a Facebook post, she had written, "I have heard that Principal of RG Kar has said the doctor should not have wandered alone at night. I will be outside at 11.55 pm for my freedom. I will do what I want. I am not ready to listen to 'night is not safe for women', 'the dress is not safe' and 'the women does not have a good character'. I will spend the night outdoors."

RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former Principal Dr Sandip Ghosh, who was pulled up by the Calcutta High Court for not being proactive after the doctor was found dead on campus, had earlier denied making such a remark.

In her Facebook post, Rimjhim had invited people to join her near a bus stand in Jadavpur. She had not expected such a huge response. From one location, gatherings were planned at three. And the count crossed 300 before it transcended boundaries of the state. Men, too, joined the gatherings to express solidarity with the cause. Many celebrities have said they would be out tonight.

"Kolkata sends a message of protest after any such incident. With that in mind, I had put out a post after speaking to friends and acquaintances. I had expected some of them to come. But I had no clue it would take this form," Rimjhim told Anandabazar Patrika earlier on Wednesday.

Among the tens of thousands expected to join the protest were quite a few celebrities too. Actors Swastika Mukherjee and Churni Ganguly, filmmakers Srijit Mukherji, Kaushik Ganguly and Pratim D Gupta and singer Iman Chakraborty had called upon people to join the midnight gathering at the meeting point most convenient to them.

Kolkata Metro announced it will run additional trains because it has received requests from several quarters in view of the protests. Kolkata Bus-o-pedia said it will run free bus service for women tonight on several routes in the city.

A History of Reclaim The Night Protests

A Take Back the Night rally was organised in 1975 in US' Philadelphia after Susan Alexander Speeth, a young microbiologist, was stabbed to death when she was walking home at night. Two years later, such marches were organised in Germany to protest against violence against women. In 1977, women in Leeds took out a Reclaim the Night March to protest against police instructions to women to stay indoors after dark in the aftermath of a string of murders. Over the years, such protests have been organised in different parts of the world to protest against gender violence and victim-blaming.