Kolkata rape-murder: It’s up to everyone to ensure women are safe

This paper featured extensive reports on protests in south Mumbai and at Dadar after Kolkata rape-murder

Several protests are, have been and no doubt will continue to take place in the city, with reference to the rape-murder of a Kolkata doctor.

This paper featured extensive reports on protests in south Mumbai and at Dadar. While cries for time-bound justice resonated in both, there are a few aspects within our control when it comes to ensuring this is a watershed moment that will lead to change.

There were many men at these protests, so it is important that we send a message these are human, not gender issues. Give girls agency within the family, just like boys so that the power equation is not askew. Tell boys that making sexist remarks or objectifying women needs to be shut down immediately even if that means ouster from a peer group. The workspace in every profession needs to be safer, so raise a voice, point out definite concerns when it comes to workspaces and try to push for greater safety within your own space. Transformation begins in our own environment.

There has to be more importance given to sprawling facilities like education hubs, hospitals. Several doctors have spoken that they barely function in comfort, leave alone any frills or luxuries. Duty rooms for women are a must, there must also be good toilet facilities. It is absolutely shocking that basic hygiene is absent in a place of healing. A dedicated changing room for doctors is needed too. We can also think about alarms at various spaces within medical facilities which can be activated at night. These should be tamper proof. There should be some kind of rapid response team stationed within hospitals for healthcare workers, who can activate an alarm and elicit a quick response. This should be directly connected to a safety control room. A couple of security guards simply do not cut it in a facility of this proportion. Start with changes that we can bring about immediately.

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