Transport at night and separate toilets and crèche at the workplace are some of the demands for women that Rimjhim Sinha, a social science researcher, has raised, other than justice for the young doctor raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The 29-year-old sociology postgraduate who had given the clarion call to reclaim the night on August 14 on behalf of all women attended the gathering on Thursday night at the 8B bus stand and in Jadavpur.

In a post on Saturday night on Facebook, Sinha announced her decision to spend the Independence Day eve “outside”, doing what she pleased, for the sake of women’s liberty. Her call resonated with a populace enraged at the barbaric murder.

Speaking to The Telegraph on Thursday, Sinha said what triggered her into action was an alleged comment by then RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh.

“He had asked why the girl had gone to the seminar hall alone. Such a comment, shifting the blame on the victim, cannot be accepted. In protest, I decided to spend the night of August 14 outdoors. No one can lay a claim on the night and dictate to us who can be outside and why,” said the Kestopur resident, who passed out of Presidency University with a sociology degree in 2020.

“Reclaim the Night” marches were part of the Women’s Liberation Movement in England, which were inspired by marches that had taken place throughout the 1970s in the US, when Susan Alexander Speeth was murdered while walking home from work in Philadelphia in 1975.

Sinha chose the 8B bus stand for her night vigil as she frequents the area for her research on domestic labourers. Sinha and her friends had also organised a night march in 2019, when a 26-year-old veterinary doctor was gangraped and killed near Hyderabad.

“I was ready to do this alone if no one else would come. In 2019, about 60-70 people did. This time, since people are so aggrieved, I expected 100-150. This response is overwhelming,” she said.

Justice, she pointed out, is not always delivered in the series of atrocities against women occurring across the country. There has been no let-up in gang rape since the Nirbhaya incident in 2012.

Rather, aggression against the victim has increased. “That is why I think there was so much pent-up frustration and the words of an ordinary citizen like me struck a chord.”

She started getting calls from areas as far as Behrampore and Purulia. “This is not a Calcutta-centric movement any more.”

She admits to being targeted by political activists. Some equated the crescent moon grabbed by the raised fist on the poster with the sickle of the Communist movement, labelling her a CPM agent. Others have picked on the call to blow conch shells at 11.55pm as akin to a Hindutva act, dubbing her a BJP supporter. This prompted her to issue a video message asking political party standard-bearers to stay away from the midnight gathering.

“When the established powers feel that an external influence has become strong enough to challenge and break the existing framework and create a new narrative, they feel threatened and start negative publicity. That is what has happened,” Sinha said, adding that it was even spread that she had invited BJP functionaries, a claim she rubbished.

This vigil, she said, should be the first step towards bringing about structural reforms. “Gender equality, including marginalised gender, should be included in the school curriculum. There should be secure transport available at night, separate restrooms for women on night duty and crèche at workplaces where women work so that they do not feel guilty as mothers. Let women add to the demands at the gatherings. We will take this agitation forward along those lines,” Sinha said.