Text of Statement by Reclaim the Night Campaign, Kolkata

Statement by Reclaim the Night Campaign, Kolkata

‘Reclaim the Night’ is a mass movement demanding justice for the RG Kar rape and murder incident. It has united many people across West Bengal, across the country and even outside India in several places. It has brought people out onto the streets, united them in rage, and one could say it is making – not “history†– but her/queer/trans* story. This movement has brought school and college students, women working in call centres, nurses, doctors, health workers and women working in several other sectors out onto the streets to protest. Women from many villages and rural areas have added their voices to this movement and thousands upon thousands of people have occupied the streets at night, throughout the night, till the wee hours of morning. Muslim women have stepped out to reclaim the streets in several areas and Trans- queer persons have taken part and brought forward their demands. Everyone’s participation has really lifted ‘Reclaim the Night’ to a different height.

Our main objectives are to secure justice in all unresolved cases of sexual violence, including the RG Kar incident, and to secure safety and freedom for women and communities of marginalized genders/sexuality everywhere and at all times. We extend solidarity to all those who are working towards achieving this goal.

From what the combined voice of the movement has upheld, we wish to respond and clarify our standpoint regarding the statement made by Alapan Bandyopadhyay, Chief Administrative Advisor to the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee [1].

First, the contents of the 17 point ‘remedies’ suggested are not, till date, a governmental order. This 17 point statement has no legal basis even though it has been widely circulated across newspapers and news channels. We are not of the opinion that this is of any importance, rather, we see this as a rushed strategy by the Chief Minister to silence the voice of the movement. Phrases like ‘should be…’, ‘we request…’ have been used, which have further added to the lack of clarity of the statement.

Second, the language of these proposed steps indicates – whether it pertains to women’s right to work or the question of living in society with dignity – that the intention is to establish state surveillance and state control over women and communities of marginalized genders/sexuality. We therefore condemn these steps.

Coming now to the substance of the 17-point agenda, we have the following arguments to make.

A reduction in the night-duty schedule has been advised for women doctors which is a complete 180 degree opposite turn from the demands of the movement! Weren’t women, as part of the Reclaim the Night movement, raising demands for security at night, to reclaim the night? Those female patients who will require help from female doctors at night, will they be denied urgent treatment then? Also, what about the nurses? The Ayahs, Housekeeping staff, women staff working in operation theaters – what will about them? The ASHA workers, who have to attend to women in labour at night, what even of them? Do all these working women not need security? In points 3 and 11, those women volunteers (who will be recruited for providing security to women at night) and women security guards whose duties have been mentioned, they will have night duties right? What measures will be taken for their security?

We know how by the same logic, in Uttar Pradesh, evening schools for women have been shut down, and in Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, women’s right to education has been taken away. Just as we strongly oppose the patriarchal practices of Manuvadi BJP, similarly we vehemently oppose this attempt of the West Bengal Government towards control of the presence of women in different spaces.

In point no. 2 they mentioned, ‘there should be rest rooms…’ Who will construct these rest rooms we ask? There is no clarity. Shall rest rooms be constructed in all workplaces for workers on night-duty? In private hospitals, the presence of rest rooms with attached toilets must be ensured free of cost for female doctors, nurses, housekeeping staff and health workers i.e. for all women working at night. Accessible public transport, easy-access toilets, creches are extremely important. On the streets, within every 1 km there must be easy-access, 24/7 toilets that are functional. In Panchayat or Municipality areas, easy access creches have to be constructed and run by the government. Budgetary allocations must be made for all of this and mere verbal assurances in place of government orders are just not enough!

Varied demands for security and safety have been raised by women from various areas, neighbourhoods and workplaces based on real, local experiences. If required, independent teams of women in each region will have to be formed to speak about their own specific problems. This must be ensured beyond the regulation of political parties or the party in power, so that they are able to place their demands for security and solve them. As legal framework (local complaint committee or equivalent, free from the control of the ruling dispensation) must be constructed to ensure this. With time, more demands of diverse natures will emerge from various areas/localities/workplaces and therefore such empty, irresponsible handouts thrown towards us can never be a solution. In various areas and workplaces, agents aided by the ruling dispensation are directly or indirectly associated with sexual oppression and assault. Even under the previous regime, we have seen the government shamelessly mouthing excuses in support of rapists and shielding powerful people from being taken to task. This tendency must be uprooted and for that to happen every participant of the movement needs to strengthen their voice against this.

Ratri Sathi App will be made we are told, wherein protection will be provided by the local police station, special women volunteers, etc. Additionally we are being reminded to extensively use the 100/112 police dial numbers. We ask, in the current situation where dialing 100, women’s police stations, women commissions, fast-track courts – everything is dysfunctional – what new solutions will this technological additive bring? And if it doesn’t work, will the Chief Secretary be made accountable to answer for it? We ask how will the State ensure that local police stations, state women’s commission and judicial procedures remain free from the influence and control of the ruling dispensation? The government should clearly inform us.

CCTV-equipped rooms have been renamed as ‘safe rooms’ when we know that in this case, the brutal incident at R. G. Kar took place in a so-called ‘safe’ room itself!

In the name of security, several barriers have been suggested, both in Kolkata as well as in the districts, regarding the free movement of people into medical colleges and hospitals. Security checks, ID checks, police patrolling, etc. have been spoken about. Our standpoint is clear – the question of women’s security cannot be solved by protectionism, by surveillance by the police/security guards/CCTVs. Such measures, if implemented in hospitals, educational institutions and other workplaces, only restrict the free movement of people, damage interpersonal relationships (such as trust between patients and doctors and nurses) in these institutions and destroy their democratic environment and spirit.

In situations where higher authorities, individuals and groups nurtured by the ruling dispensation are directly or indirectly responsible for incidents of assault – what will be the Chief Secretary’s standpoint – this must be clearly specified. The R. G. Kar incident is scarily similar to this.

In the 17 point agenda, the Vishakha Committee and Gender Sensitization Workshops have been mentioned. Exactly what is the Vishakha Committee, or the GSCASH, or how and why their implementation has failed in governmental/non-governmental institutions – the Chief Secretary’s or the government’s understanding of this seems to be shaky and dubious. Prescribing this as an instant solution seems shady especially when at R.G. Kar a male principal presides over an inactive ICC illegally. Isn’t any ICC supposed to be presided over by a woman? What is the status of implementation of the ‘Prevention Of Sexual Harassment at Workplace’ law in various governmental/non-governmental institutions across the State? We demand a full review of this along with identification of failures on the part of the state. A special commission must be constituted to investigate this. Compulsorily, the law must be amended and elected (not selected) representatives from all sections of the institution must be present in the newly reconstituted GSCASH cells.

The incident at R.G. Kar on the night of the 14th of August, 2024 has proved that the police have grievously failed to provide safety and thereafter they have only been active in suppressing the mass movements demanding justice. This brazen attempt at empowering the police further, and increasing police presence, actually destroys the democratic environment of workplaces and does not increase safety. Let us not be fooled by such measures.

We will continue demanding justice for the victim of the R.G. Kar incident and carry forward this fight to ensure safety at the workplace.