The largest medical union in India declared a 24-hour strike, but junior physicians in several Indian hospitals continued to work without pay on Sunday in protest, calling for quick justice for a colleague who was raped and killed.
The death of the 31-year-old postgraduate student of chest medicine in the early hours of August 9 in the eastern city of Kolkata sparked protests, candlelight marches, and a refusal by doctors to examine non-emergency patients nationwide throughout the course of the last week.
Following the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012, women activists believe the event at the British-era R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital has brought attention to how women in India still suffer despite stricter legislation.
“My daughter is gone but many of my sons and daughters are now with me,” the victim’s father, who is not allowed to be identified in India, said to reporters late on Saturday in reference to the physicians who were protesting.
“This has really strengthened me, and I think we will benefit from it.”
Following the 2012 incident, India made significant reforms to the criminal justice system, including stiffer sentencing guidelines. However, proponents argue that these measures have not gone far enough to prevent violence against women.
The Indian Medical Association informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he must step in to guarantee hospital workers were safeguarded by security procedures similar to those at airports because 60% of India’s physicians are women.
The IMA’s walkout concluded at 6 a.m. (0030 GMT) on Sunday.
In a letter to Modi, it stated, “All health care workers deserve peaceful ambience, security, and safety at workplace.”
The government has called on physicians to resume treating patients in order to address the increasing number of dengue and malaria cases, and it has established a committee to recommend ways to strengthen the security afforded to medical personnel.
Sunday is usually a vacation for non-emergency situations, but according to IMA officials, the majority of physicians returned to their regular duties.
