Why doctors across India have gone on strike

Plus: Falling in love with AI, what it takes to be a "first gentleman," and more August 20, 2024 [View in browser]( Good morning! Today, we're taking a look at growing protests in India, where demonstrations over the rape and killing of a 31-year-old doctor trainee on a hospital's grounds in the city of Kolkata have brought parts of the country to a standstill. Doctors have gone on strike as they and other Indians demand better protections for women and doctors amid the country's continued struggle with gender-based sexual violence. The case — which comes more than a decade after a horrific rape of a student on a New Delhi bus spurred a nationwide effort to strengthen rape laws and protections for women — has prompted Indians to once again demand a reckoning with larger, systemic issues that have fueled gender-based violence in the country, writes news reporter Ellen Ioanes. She's here to explain what we know so far. —Lavanya Ramanathan, senior editor   The rape and killing of a doctor trainee is roiling India [A crowd of protesters, both men and women, hold signs and pack a street lined with trees. ] Doctors across India are protesting the brutal rape and killing of a doctor trainee in Kolkata. Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images The rape and killing of a 31-year-old woman medical resident has touched off protests across India as the country grapples with inadequate protections for women and increasing [reports of gender-based violence](. The demonstrations began in Kolkata — the capital of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal — following the woman’s rape and killing, which took place on August 9 at a medical school. They’ve since spread to [other states, as well as the country’s capital, New Delhi](. The death of the trainee is just the latest of several [high-profile recent incidents of gender-based violence]( in India, and it comes at a time when sexual violence appears to be on the rise: [According to the National Crime Records Bureau](, there was a 20 percent increase in reported rapes in 2022 compared to 2021. The Indian government implemented stricter laws against sexual- and gender-based violence, as well as some [national strategies to address it](, following international outcry over the 2012 case of a young woman who was gang raped and killed on a bus. But as the current tragedy [and other high-profile cases]( suggest, those laws have not ended India’s systemic problems with gender-based violence, and now, many of the protesters say they’ve had enough. As part of the protests, [thousands of doctors]( (by some estimates, [hundreds of thousands of doctors]() have left their posts. On Saturday, doctors across the country — [led primarily by women]( — held a 24-hour strike. Over the past few days, some physicians, such as [a group of doctors in New Delhi,]( have attempted to set up limited free care as part of their demonstrations, and most have refused to see non-emergency patients. Government officials have demanded that the protesting doctors return to work as usual; they have refused until their demands are met. Political leaders have called for justice. In an address on August 15 — India’s independence day — Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, without mentioning the Kolkata rape and death, that everyone in the country must “seriously think about the kind of atrocities which are taking place against our mothers, sisters, daughters” and that “crime against women should be investigated more urgently.” As of now, the investigation into the rape and death continues, as do renewed calls for [India to strengthen legal protections]( for medical professionals generally and women specifically. What we know so far There are still a number of unknowns about the woman at the heart of the protests, who, per Indian law, has not been publicly named. However, we do know she worked at Kolkata’s government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. She reportedly fell asleep in a seminar room at the hospital, after a long shift as a trainee physician. The following morning, on August 9, her colleagues found her body. An autopsy report showed signs of sexual violence. A [volunteer with the police](, identified as Sanjay Roy, has been arrested and charged with her murder. The woman’s parents [insist that more people were involved](. [Federal officials have taken]( over the investigation of the case. As the inquiry continues, doctors are protesting for safer conditions at their hospitals, including a law that would remove bail for those accused of attacking doctors. They are also demanding a swift resolution to the case and have prompted an examination of larger systemic issues with Indian gender-based violence, including stigma around sexual assault in the country and mistrust of local police, [according to]( the Associated Press. Religious and ethnic minorities have been subject to gender-based and sexual violence by the state. Perhaps one of the most shocking historical cases is the [mass rape perpetrated by the Indian military in Kashmir in 1991](. More recently, in Jammu, a part of Kashmir that is a site of government repression and popular uprising, [an 8-year-old girl]( was kidnapped, held in a Hindu temple, tortured, raped, and murdered by a former government officer and police co-conspirators in 2017. Police said the crime was part of an effort [to push the nomadic Muslim community to which the girl belonged out of the area](. Infamously, Modi’s government [overturned the sentences of 11 men convicted of raping a Muslim woman in the 2002 Gujarat riots](, though they were eventually sent back to jail. Modi was at the time chief minister of Gujarat, and around 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the riots. And cases like the woman’s proliferate at the community level as well; in the wake of her case, [three doctors were accused of raping a nurse]( in northern India. “There’s so much gender-based violence” in India, Ather Zia, an anthropology professor at Northern Colorado University, told Vox. She added that’s by no means exclusive to India, though. “That's the entire world.” —[Ellen Ioanes, world and weekend reporter](   [Listen]( The Chicago DNC everyone wants to forget When Chicago hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1968, it descended into riots in the street and chaos on the floor. Historian Rick Perlstein talks about whether 2024 risks a repeat. [Listen now](   [Kamala Harris smiles behind a podium with a microphone.] Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images - Harris’s big challenge: As attacks on Kamala Harris grow, despite her rising position in the polls, the greatest obstacle the Democratic presidential candidate faces is moderating her image enough to [convince key swing voters that she isn’t “dangerously liberal.”]( - Safety first: The AI boom has produced much public conversation about investor profits and the expansive potential of the technology, but [the industry’s hyper-speed growth has overlooked the risks of artificial intelligence being used without oversight](. Policies focused on regulation and safety concerns could help long-term outlooks. - Speaking of concerning: Are people falling in love with AI? Maybe the movie[Her]( was more prophetic than we thought. [OpenAI's new chatbot, GPT-4o, speaks aloud](, and users have been forming an attachment to the AI, the company has reported. That "emotional reliance," as you might imagine, is not a good thing: it could be addictive for users. - A research renaissance: If implemented, the Pasteur Act would allow the government and manufacturing companies to partner together to produce new, FDA-approved antibiotics. While the strategy won’t totally solve the issue of antimicrobial resistance globally, new antibiotics [could still be a net positive for public health in the United States](. - There’s a first time for everything. Even a "first gentleman." Former President Bill Clinton was the last man to help his wife with her Oval Office aspirations. If Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’s husband, becomes first gentleman, [his role would be the first of its kind]( — and could likely set an American example for a certain kind of feminist masculinity. He'll speak at the DNC tonight. [A woman holds an agar dish with bacteria growing in it. ] Jean Lee, a PhD student at Melbourne’s Doherty Institute, inspects bacteria on an agar plate. William West/AFP via Getty Image And elsewhere... The house always wins: Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris wants to give a $25,000 tax credit to first-time home buyers. This idea has been popular in the past — in 2008, 1.4 million people used an $8,000 tax credit that helped stabilize housing prices. Here’s a brief overview of how Harris’s proposal might play out today if she became president. [[Axios](] A balancing act: The “chemical imbalance theory” has long been a popular explanation for why some people experience anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders. The way Americans think about mental health, mental illness, diagnoses, and treatments in the last few decades has changed in a major way. Scripts, a podcast mini-series, explores that transformation. [[The Atlantic](] [A digitally generated image of pills with smiley faces ] Boris SV/Getty   Ad   Some context on the Court In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that laws banning "sex" discrimination should be read broadly to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. On Friday, however, the Court handed down a strange ruling in Department of Education v. Louisiana, which seemed to ignore Bostock altogether. It's [an ominous sign for LGBTQ Americans](, suggesting that the Court will not enforce its decisions protecting LGBTQ civil rights. Ian Millhiser, a senior correspondent who focuses on the Supreme Court, wrote [an explainer piece for Vox back in 2020 on Bostock v. Clayton County](. Reporting on the Louisiana ruling this week, he found [Georgetown law professor Steve Vladeck wonky dive]( into the decision and how it fits into the Court's ongoing struggle with its so-called "shadow docket" particularly helpful. “Vladeck literally [wrote the book on the Court's shadow docket](,” says Millhiser. “His Substack is an invaluable resource if you're trying to understand how this Court creates chaos by playing games with its own procedures." [An illustration shows the pride flag colors superimposed on the Supreme Court] Getty Images   Are you enjoying the Today, Explained newsletter? Forward it to a friend; they can [sign up for it right here](. And as always, we want to know what you think. Specifically: If there is a topic you want us to explain or a story you’re curious to learn more about, let us know [by filling out this form]( or just replying to this email. Today’s edition was produced and edited by senior editor Lavanya Ramanathan, with contributions from staff editor Melinda Fakuade. We'll see you tomorrow!   [Become a Vox Member]( Support our journalism — become a Vox Member and you’ll get exclusive access to the newsroom with members-only perks including newsletters, bonus podcasts and videos, and more. [Join our community](   Ad   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [TikTok]( [WhatsApp]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences]( [unsubscribe](param=sentences). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1701 Rhode Island. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.