In Little India, calls for justice for Kolkata doctor

The murder and rape of a doctor in Kolkata this month has sparked protests and conversations across India — and now in the U.S.

In Artesia, home to Little India, community advocates in L.A.'s large South Asian population held a rally Thursday afternoon against sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence. The issue has gained increased attention in the local diaspora in recent years, with the development of programs and shelters to help South Asian survivors. 

"We're seeing cases of South Asian women dying from gender-based violence here in the US," said Zainab Qureshi, director of programs at the South Asian Network. "So it's all interconnected."

Outrage in Kolkata

Marchers organized by the South Asian Network and SAHARA, which provides shelter to domestic violence survivors, on Thursday traveled down Pioneer Boulevard, the main stretch in Little India, past restaurants and shops catering to Indian Americans. They called for justice for the murdered doctor and solidarity with those fighting for the safety of women in India and beyond.

The rally comes less than two weeks after a trainee doctor was raped and killed at the hospital where she worked in Kolkata. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets and doctors held a national strike, leading President Modi to call for calm and a stop to atrocities against women.

The doctor's case stirred memories of similarly brutal attacks like the 2012 gang rape of a young woman on a bus in New Dehli.

Qureshi said the same discussions about high rates of gender-based violence roiling India are happening among South Asians in the U.S., where similar societal expectations can marginalize survivors.

Across cultures

Qureshi said the number of survivors who stay silent about the abuse is "very high."

"And it's very high because of how our community questions them and discount their experiences," she said.

Qureshi noted that similar victim-blaming persists in U.S. society regardless of culture or background with survivors questioned: Why was she there? What did she do to put herself in this situation?

In October, supporters of survivors held an event to honor all of the women in the U.S. who lost their lives to gender-based violence.

"There was a long list, unfortunately," Qureshi said. "So there's a foundational connection, regardless of if it's in the city of Artesia or in Kolkata."