The rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in the early hours of 9 August has sparked widespread outrage and frustration across India.
Demonstrators gathered near parliament in New Delhi, holding signs that demanded accountability for the crime. Similar protests erupted in Kolkata—the capital of West Bengal where the crime occurred—as well as in other major cities including Mumbai and Hyderabad. In Kolkata, women brandished signs reading ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi‘ (Woman, Life, Freedom), demanding justice and a safer environment for women.
The protests, which have remained largely peaceful, began on 9 August, when the police discovered the bloodied body of the young doctor in the seminar hall of the state-run hospital in Kolkata.
In India, sexual violence and rape have reached epidemic proportions, endangering the safety and future of women and girls. This crisis is exacerbated by a culture of impunity, silence, and victim-blaming, which normalises such acts.
In 2022 alone, women reported an average of 90 rapes per day. The true scale of the problem is likely much worse when considering the many cases that go unreported.
The slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’, which first gained prominence in Kurdistan and European countries during the Kobani battle against ISIS, has since mobilised women globally, including in Iran after the murder of Jina Amini. It has reached as far as Pretoria in South Africa and the Basque Country. Now, this slogan is uniting and mobilising women in India in their struggle against injustice.
