RG Kar case: The Central Bureau of Investigation has summoned left leader Minakshi Mukherjee in the Kolkata trainee doctor rape and murder case. She has been asked to appear before the probing team at 11 am.  Minakshi Mukherjee had met the parents of the victim on the day the doctor was murdered. Her party, Democratic Youth Federation of India, has claimed several times that the police could not hurriedly cremate the deceased doctor due to the efforts of the left leader. 

Kolkata doctor murder: CBI summons left leader Minakshi Mukherjee in RG Kar case RG Kar case: Minakshi Mukherjee's party, Democratic Youth Federation of India, has claimed several times that the police could not hurriedly cremate the deceased doctor due to the efforts of the left leader. 

Women today don’t want pity; they want protection, equality, and the right to work without fear. Are the governments listening? Or are they, as Indira Jaising – representing the protesting junior doctors – said in court, in denial?

She doesn’t use a surname, and is studying for her NEET PG exam. “The doctor’s room does not have enough space for the doctors, it is so compacted in some departments that they have two single beds and the number of doctors on duty is always more than two. The restrooms are common, and they are totally unhygienic and dangerous because sometimes in the absence of doctors they are used by patients or their relatives as well,” Apoorva said. 

As a female doctor in India, I would really want the government to look into the government facilities much more meticulously because there are many negatives to working in the government hospital if we compare it to the private ones,” Dr Apoorva, who used to work at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in Delhi

The real solution lies not in restricting women but in ensuring their safety, as the Supreme Court rightly pointed out.  The government’s plan to hire over 1,500 private security guards doesn’t inspire much confidence either, given that the main suspect in the RG Kar case was a civic volunteer. As CJI Chandrachud put it, how can a seven-day training program for on-contract staff guarantee safety?

Of course, if I demand equal respect, I should put equal effort, and I've done it in my internship. I've worked 48 hours. Sometimes, the duty gets inhumane, but that is true for the male doctors as well. There should be proper working hours for doctors irrespective of gender.” 

“All I care about is how much is the BP [blood pressure], where the saturation probe is, how much is the CBG [capillary blood glucose], is the patient breathing or not,” she added. “To me, equality is not only equal opportunities for women, but also it shows that we do care about our fellow male co-workers. In government hospitals, with the huge workload that we have, it's not possible for them to handle things alone. We want to work hand in hand. Not above, not below compared to males. Of course, if I demand equal respect, I should put equal effort, and I've done it in my internship. I've worked 48 hours.

“When patients rush through the emergency, we don't have the luxury to even remember who I am, where I come from, what my gender is, or what the time is, day or night,”  said Dr Devalina Bose, a student at RG Kar Medical College.  “All I care about is how much is the BP [blood pressure], where the saturation probe is, how much is the CBG [capillary blood glucose], is the patient breathing or not,” she added.

Kapil Sibal, representing the Bengal government, tried to defend the government’s notification issued on August 19, but the court thankfully would have none of it.  One wonders if the people drafting such notifications are living in the 19th century, still imagining women as delicate flowers who need to be tucked into bed by 8 pm. In a state that celebrates Kadambini, is this the best they can come up with to protect women?