In the early hours of the morning on 15 August , 2024 (India’s Independence Day), thousands of women holding flaming torches and blowing conch shells began to march through dark streets across West Bengal.
- They were part of several days of protest against the the gruesome rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
- The women marched to chants of “Reclaim the night”, a reference to the fact that the 31-year-old junior doctor was attacked at night while taking a break from a long shift at the government RG Kar hospital.
Background of Reclaim The Night
- The Reclaim The Night march gives women a voice and a chance to reclaim the streets at night on a safe and empowering event.
- Their aim is to put the issue of women safety on the agenda for this night and every day.
- The Reclaim The Night marches started in the United Kingdom on the 12th November 1977, when torchlit marches were held across England in Leeds, York, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Brighton and London.
- They were called by the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group, who were inspired by news of co-ordinated women-only ‘Take Back The Night’ marches against sexual harassment, held across towns and cities in West Germany on the 30th April 1977.
