The rape and murder of a female trainee at a hospital in Kolkata has exposed how unsafe female doctors in India are at work. Even basic needs like having their own toilets remain unmet in many public hospitals.
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00:00These Indians have been protesting for months in Kolkata.
00:06After the rape and murder of a young female doctor at the state-run hospital on August 9, 2024,
00:14students launched the movement, Reclaim the Night.
00:17We will never go to the hospital!
00:20Protesters have been calling for action against sexual violence.
00:24Some of their demands are as basic as having separate toilets for women in all public hospitals in Kolkata.
00:33This is Shatabdi Ghosh, a 25-year-old trainee doctor who has been studying and training here for about five years.
00:41She has endured similar working conditions and risks as a young female doctor who was raped and murdered.
00:48Not only there was a scarcity in terms of toilets, but there was no proper division between male and female toilets.
00:55So most of the time, both me and my male interns had to use the same washroom.
01:02So it becomes very difficult for us to find clean washrooms and do our work because it's not possible.
01:10The scarcity of toilets aside, the conditions of the existing ones in hospital buildings are concerning.
01:17It's not like every floor used to have a proper washroom.
01:21So we had to sometimes go to other buildings also.
01:24Like if we are doing gynae, but still we have to go to the surgery department or some other department to use the washroom.
01:32And worst case scenario, we had to go to some hotel or any mall nearby to use the washroom.
01:41Poor conditions are not exclusive to the hospital where Shatabdi Ghosh works.
01:46The rape and murder case has highlighted the lack of proper safety measures at public hospitals.
01:53And doctors are calling for better protection, including access to safe and clean toilets for female staff.
02:00The situation has attracted national and international attention.
02:05Doctors in India have called a nationwide strike in protest at the rape and murder of a female trainee in Kolkata.
02:12Medical staff say violence against women is widespread.
02:15They're demanding better security in hospitals.
02:18Shatabdi Ghosh told DW that security for female doctors had taken a backseat at her hospital.
02:25But after the rape and murder incident, authorities have increased safety measures.
02:31Security officers were reluctant to let DW shoot within the hospital premises.
02:38At private hospitals in Kolkata, the situation is the opposite.
02:44I was very much aggressive on this thing that the toilet has to be there.
02:49And there has to be a separate toilet in each floor.
02:53And a separate doctor's toilet has to be there.
02:55And I made it clear that all the female staff should not face any hazard related to this toilet.
03:03For the patients as well, building a toilet costs how much?
03:07A government setup, you have MRI, you have CT scan, you have so many things which are quite expensive.
03:13So what's the big deal in just making a toilet?
03:18DW spoke to the officer responsible for public toilet facilities in Kolkata.
03:24Swapan Samadha admitted that there should have been separate toilets for women at public hospitals a long time ago.
03:32But he said there had been infrastructural problems.
03:36I personally wrote to each ward councillor to give them space.
03:42One of the reasons was that we have a lot of ideas in Kolkata.
03:46But you know that there is a very complex situation in terms of space and space.
03:50Because Kolkata is not a land city.
03:52We will make it only for women, where all the facilities for women will be there.
04:00I have written to the superiors of the big hospitals in Kolkata.
04:05They will give us space and we will make it there.
04:10Five years ago, the government of West Bengal state in India
04:14pledged to clamp down on violence against doctors.
04:17It promised public hospitals better security equipment,
04:21female guards to support female physicians, and controlled entry points,
04:26according to an internal government memo seen by Reuters.
04:30None of these measures had been implemented at the public hospital
04:34where a young female doctor was sexually assaulted and killed on August 9,
04:38allegedly by a police volunteer.
04:41Four trainee doctors there told Reuters.
04:44On the streets of Kolkata, doctors and residents have not backed down.
04:49They want concrete action now,
04:51to meet a basic need like having safe and clean female toilets.
04:57This is a total, total lack of political will, in my opinion.
05:01Because this is not something that they need a big investment.
05:05It's a decent toilet with a room to maybe change or rest,
05:10and a place where there should be the sanitary napkin vending machines,
05:16and clean and decent toilet.
05:18But, I mean, this is not a big deal.
05:21I mean, anyone, any government should do it.
05:24And I'm totally in support,
05:27and actively support this movement of demanding toilets.
05:30The government has acknowledged the call for separate toilets
05:33for female doctors in hospitals.
05:36Experts want to share their suggestions,
05:39and open a dialogue with the government.