Thousands of women marched in various Indian cities last night, demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impose strict penalties for crimes committed against women amid rising anger and protests over the horrific rape and murder of a doctor. The women held candles and banners calling for the assurance of their freedoms and took to the streets in cities including Kolkata in eastern India, where last week's rape and murder of a trainee doctor sparked protests from her fellow healthcare workers calling for improved working conditions and enhanced security.
Many government hospitals in cities across the country suspended all services except for emergency departments earlier this week due to the protest by recently graduated female doctors outside hospitals in support of the victim's right. The 31-year-old doctor was found murdered on Friday, and police stated she had been raped and then killed. A volunteer police officer has been arrested in connection with the crime.
In his address to the nation on the occasion of Independence Day on Thursday, Modi stated, "As a society, we must reflect on the atrocities committed against our mothers, daughters, and sisters. There is anger in the country regarding this matter, and I feel that anger." Additionally, doctors in overcrowded government hospitals often complain about the hard work, low wages, and insufficient efforts to reduce the violence they face from individuals upset with the level of medical care available.
