Kolkata rape-murder protests: Female doctors, activists claim 'women safety' concerns overlooked as men hijack the movement

Women doctors and female rights activists in West Bengal seeking “enhanced safety of women professionals at workplaces” in wake of brutal rape-murder of a woman doctor at Kolkata state-run hospital last month, have expressed disappointment over what they called “drastic shift of movement from “safety of women” to the rot in the medical system and health infrastructure, besides other issues.”

They regretted the primary concern — the safety of women — that initially fueled the protest is now struggling to stay relevant as the movement has allegedly been “hijacked by the male doctors who have ended up taking center stage” and shifting the focus from the genuine issue concerning the women professionals.

Citing a recent meeting of a delegation of 42 doctors with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to present their demands, Gauri Seth, a resident doctor from Medical College, Kolkata was quoted as saying that the number of female doctors was in single digits, which indicated underrepresentation of women at the peak of a movement which was earlier predominantly centered around “women safety” in the wake of the gruesome incident.

“Men are hogging the limelight, and it has led the movement to focus more on the rot in the medical system and other issues like the health infrastructure, rather than the safety of women,” she added.

Regreting, “hijacking of the movement by male doctors.” Seth said, “One of the narratives is that a young woman doctor died because she raised her voice against injustice. But now, men are taking away our voices and leading the movement. They have been playing savior since the beginning of the movement, and we don’t need them protecting us from other men.”

Notably, the rape and murder of a 31-year-old female trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Aug 9 have triggered massive protests spearheaded by doctors mostly in West Bengal for nearly six weeks.

The protestors also involved people from different backgrounds, who initially demanded enhanced measures for the safety of women besides justice for the victim and sacking of senior officials allegedly responsible for the incident have off late “forgotten women's safety,” female doctors alleged.

Echoing Seth’s concerns, a female MBBS graduate at City Medical College was quoted as saying that male doctors “with savior complexes” have occupied the frontlines of the protests and also leadership positions in Resident Doctors’ Associations across Kolkata.

“We just need the men to listen to us. Let us express what makes us feel unsafe and insecure in our workplace, as well as what we need as a solution to address the issues,” she said.

Radhikaa Sharma, a postgraduate trainee doctor while expressing her disappointment over the prevailing scenario said, “Nurses and female hospital staff face even more violence than the average female doctor. Unfortunately, they are not mentioned anywhere in the ongoing discourse."

Kavita Krishnan, a female rights activist claimed that “women's safety” which was the larger issue initially has now become irrelevant amid other narratives. “What happened to the victim was because she was a woman, not because she was a doctor. That is something that must be kept in mind,” she was quoted as saying.

Satabdi Das, convener of the ‘Reclaim the Night, Reclaim the Rights’ movement, and a gender rights activist, who played a crucial role in facilitating the participation of feminist and queer activists in the protests, noted that many protesters no longer view the rape and murder of the doctor as a gender crime due to the larger political nexus allegedly behind the gruesome incident.

“Many believe that if a man had opposed the political nexus, the same would have happened to him. However, rape is a tool of domination which is rarely used against men. Sadly, there is a lack of understanding about rape not being a crime of lust but a tool to exercise domination over women,” she was quoted as saying.

Das also wondered about the lack of female, queer, and transgender faces in the doctors’ agitation. “While I understand that the agitating doctors’ five-point agenda is chiefly based on the health infrastructure and safety of health workers, they could have created a more compelling picture if more women were part of the protest,” she added.