Indian doctors and medical professionals' 24-hour shutdown protest after a trainee doctor was gang-raped and murdered in the eastern city of Kolkata, in West Bengal, forced hospitals and medical clinicn to start turning away non-emergency patients.

Over a million doctors were expected to participate in the protests, disabling medical services across the country. The strike, according to the Indian medical Association (IMA), blocked access to elective medical procedures and outpatient consultations, prompting faculty staff from medical colleges to be on-call for emergency cases. 

Last week, a student doctor was raped and murdered at her workplace at RG Kar Medical College, triggering nationwide protests and increased calls for the protection of women in the country. 

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, backed the strikes and demanded a rapid investigation that would harshly prosecute the criminals. 

Ineffective laws against violence toward women

As clinics and diagnostic centers remained closed on Saturday, patients began lining up, overwhelming attendings and faculty doctors. Meanwhile, some patients were not aware that strikes had paralyzed medical services. One patient told a local television channel, "I have spent 500 rupees on travel to come here. I have paralysis and a burning sensation in my feet, head and other parts of my body."

Anger over ineffective laws against violence toward women has sparked protests by doctors and women’s groups. IMA president, RV Asokan, highlighted the need for improved safety for women, who make up the majority of the medical profession in the country.

A doctors' strike that started on Monday was limited to government hospitals and elective surgeries. On Friday, thousands marched in various Indian cities demanding justice and enhanced security at medical facilities. Protesters in New Delhi and Kolkata called for accountability and better safety measures, with similar demonstrations occurring in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

The doctor's bloodied corpse was discovered on August 9 at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, and shocked political figures, Bollywood celebrities, and the public, all calling for harsher punishments for the offenders. 

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A police volunteer in charge of helping police officers and their families in need of medical care has been convicted for the crime.

Compounding the outrage, it was reported on Thursday that on August 8, police in Uttarakhand found the body of a young nurse who had been raped and murdered nine days earlier while walking home from work.

Sexual violence against women is a pervasive issue in India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, there were 31,516 reported cases of rape in 2022, marking a 20% increase from the previous year.

BJP releases Muslim woman's rapists from prison in celebratory fashion

India has consistently failed to adequately prosecute sexual offenders and protect women from them. In 2022, a Muslim woman who was gang-raped expressed herself to be "numb" as her attackers were released early from prison. 

Bilkis Bano and her two children were the only survivors when a Hindu mob attacked a group of 17 Muslims in Gujarat, 2002, killing 14 of them.

Pregnant at the time, Bilkis witnessed the killing of seven of her relatives, including her daughter who was 3 at the time. 

Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat state's premier at the time of the tragedy.

11 Hindu men were originally sentenced to life in prison, but then were freed at a time that coincides with the 75th anniversary of India's independence, August 15. 

The rapists were greeted by their relatives, in addition to a BJP delegate, outside the prison, being handed sweets and their feet touched as a traditional Indian sign of respect. The BJP is notorious for its violent and derogatory anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies. 

The release came after a recommendation by a state government panel.

Bilkis' lawyer released a statement expressing her devastation, expressing how "The trauma of the past 20 years washed over me again."