Angered by the rape and murder of a female doctor on duty at Kolkata’s government RG Kar Hospital, a large number of women took to the streets of Bengal at midnight before Independence Day to protest. Women protesters took to the streets at more than 300 places across the state and raised slogans demanding justice.
Students, working women and housewives came together to show solidarity against this violence. Flags of political parties were banned but people from marginalized communities, such as LGBTQ groups, also participated. Rimjhim Sinha, who initiated the movement, marked the event as a new battle for freedom for women.
Over the past few days, the movement has spread to various cities and districts in Bengal, with initial gatherings planned at various locations including Kolkata’s College Street, Academy of Fine Arts and Jadavpur 8B Bus Stand.
Around eight thousand protesters gathered with candles near Vishwa Bangla Gate in Kolkata. Crowds gathered at several other places, from Jadavpur 8B Bus Stand to College Square, Nakatala Nabapalli to New Town Vishwa Bangla Gate, Behala Sakher Bazar to Shyambazar Five Point Crossing, Academy of Fine Arts to Nagerbazar, and more.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Srirampur, Chanchura, Shanti Niketan, Krishnanagar, Burdwan, Siliguri, Barasat, Barrackpore, Rajarhat-Newtown, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri. The protest at Sealdah station saw an unexpected but interesting addition—people living on the pavement joined in, with some women blowing conches to protest.
Thousands of women in Diamond Harbour sang Tagore’s “Agnir Parasmani” and lit torches on their mobile phones to demand justice. Men also joined the protests at several places to show solidarity with the women.
Lily Banerjee, an elderly woman from Patuli among the protesters, expressed deep concern for her daughter’s safety. “When I heard about the horrific attack on the young doctor, I couldn’t sleep. My daughter is the same age and works in Pune. I worry about her safety every day,” she said emotionally.
Actress Rituparna Sengupta expressed her support for the movement in a video message and regretted the recurrence of such violent incidents. “It is shocking that we are still facing these problems. We need assurances that such violence will not happen again,” she said.
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