Women This Week: Thousands Protest Murder and Rape of Female Doctor in India

Demand Legal Protection for Women and Medical Personnel 

Thousands of women and healthcare workers across India are protesting the rape and murder of a female doctor, demanding better legal protection for medical workers and women. The body of a thirty-one-year-old physician trainee was found last Thursday in a seminar room at the Kolkata hospital, where she was working a thirty-six-hour shift. Her body showed signs of sexual assault and gang rape. In response, doctors walked off their jobs, and thousands of others have taken to the streets to demand better protections for healthcare workers at government-run hospitals, including ensuring that those who attack medical personnel are not allowed bail. They are also demanding stronger protections for women against sexual violence, which has remained a pervasive problem in India. “It’s not just a protest, but a call to humanity,” said one student at Kolkata’s Presidency University. “We are angry,” she continued, “It’s about the safety of all women everywhere.” The Supreme Court is overseeing the case in Kolkata’s high court, and a hearing is set for Tuesday.  

Afghan Women Continue Medical Education in Scotland 

Nineteen women from Afghanistan have arrived in Edinburgh to finish their medical degrees after their education was halted when the Taliban took back power three years ago. The students arrived in Scotland after a three-year campaign by the Linda Norgrove Foundation, which was established by the parents of Norgrove, a Scottish aid worker who was killed in a failed rescue attempt by U.S. forces. The foundation collaborated with the British and Scottish governments to coordinate passage and student visas for the Afghan women. “It fills me with immense pride and joy to stand here today on this beautiful day,” said one student. “But let me tell you, being here was not as easy as these words make it seem. We endured a thousand days of suffering to reach this point.” The Taliban has said that it does not need any more female doctors but has allowed some women to complete two-year programs in specialties such as midwifery.  

Iraq Considering Amendment to Allow for Girls as Young as Nine to Be Married 

Iraq’s parliament has completed its first reading of an amendment that would give more power to religious authorities to govern marriages. The proposal targets the Personal Status Law of 1959, which sets eighteen as the minimum legal age of marriage, with an exception for girls to be married as young as fifteen with permission from a judge or guardian. The amendment would allow couples to choose a marriage contract aligned with the Personal Status Law or a specific Islamic school, where some religious jurisprudence allows for the marriage of girls as young as nine. It would also authenticate unregistered marriages facilitated by a religious authority and remove criminal punishments for men involved in these unregistered arrangements, which often involve the marriage of a child. A UN Children’s Fund report found that 28 percent of girls married in Iraq are under the legal age of eighteen. “The Iraqi parliament’s passage of this bill would be a devastating step backward for Iraqi women and girls and the rights they have fought hard to enshrine in law,” said Sarah Sanbar, Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Formally legalizing child marriage would rob countless girls of their futures and well-being. Girls belong in school and on the playground, not in a wedding dress.”