India's women doctors have their MeToo moment finally

Women working in Indian hospitals narrate their own experiences of sexual harassment and assault, exposing a toxic culture of silencing victims.

- Namita Singh

Doctor Aileen Souza* was examining a patient at a bustling private hospital in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu when a senior male colleague approached her from behind and rubbed up against her. “There was enough space for at least 10 people to queue up behind me. And yet, my senior came and rubbed his dick against my butt in public,” Souza, who was 25 when she began her internship at the hospital, tells The Independent.

Born to parents who were doctors and alumni from the same prestigious medical college she attended in the southern city of Vellore, Souza says she entered the profession with a certain sense of security. That illusion was quickly shattered, as she was sexually harassed and assaulted by several colleagues over the years. She says it made her aware of her vulnerabilities as a woman despite the privilege of class, and where it leaves others who are not from similar backgrounds.

Three years after her ordeal she’s speaking out, emboldened by the national outcry over the recent rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata. More than a million doctors in India went on strike this month amid snowballing protests over the 9 August rape and murder of a resident medic who had settled down for a nap in a lecture hall after working nearly 20 hours of a 36-hour shift at the government-run RG Kar Medical College.

Since then, junior doctors have taken to the streets in protest, demanding justice and better workplace safety for women in hospitals. This comes amid what is being seen as a second wave of the #MeToo movement in India as women actors in a southern film industry speak up about systemic sexual abuse by top professionals, emboldened by a government-appointed factfinding committee backing their allegations.