The rape and murder at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital raises “critical questions about women’s safety in all public and private spheres, including... IIT Kharagpur, where the expectation of safety and security should be a given, not a luxury”, students of the tech school have said on the Facebook page of the campus media body.
“Awaaz, IIT Kharagpur” says in the post women’s safety in India has been a “contentious issue for decades” and each high-profile case sparks outrage and calls for reforms.
“Yet, despite the national and international attention, the situation remains dire. The reasons are multifaceted, ranging from deeply ingrained patriarchal attitudes, insufficient policing and a judicial system that is often too slow or too lenient.... The situation at educational institutions, including IIT Kharagpur, should be a cause for serious introspection,” says the post.
The post adds that the “outcry” which followed the RG Kar incident was a powerful yet painful reminder of the precarious situation women find themselves in every day.
It also discusses what “justice” means in such a situation.
“What does justice look like in a case like this? Is it merely the arrest and punishment of the rapist? Or does it involve a thorough re-examination of the institutions that failed to protect? Should justice also not include holding accountable those who allowed such a vulnerable environment to persist?” the post says.
A member of the media body told Metro: “We said what we feel and what students should know. We are all part of a society and IIT Kharagpur is no exception. We are not isolated from the incident. It affects all of us. There are plenty of female students here. It is our collective responsibility to take care of them.”
The students’ statement says: “The cultural and institutional barriers to women’s safety are enormous, and this latest incident at RG Kar Hospital is a tragic example of how these barriers continue to claim innocent lives.”
The Supreme Court on Tuesday formed a National Task Force to evolve protocols to ensure the safety of female medical professionals.
The Bengal government recently announced a slew of measures to improve working conditions for women.
An IIT Kharagpur student said it took the death of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor to address “these institutional barriers”.
“Why could these not be done earlier?” the student said.
The Facebook post says: “Addressing the issue of women’s safety requires more than just better laws and stricter enforcement; it requires a fundamental cultural shift. This shift must begin with how we, as a society, view women and their place in public and private spaces. Educational institutions, including IIT Kharagpur, have a critical role to play in this transformation.”