AIPWA leader Comrade Indrani Dutta said that the gang rape of a medical student at a private medical college in Durgapur once again exposes the grim reality of women’s insecurity in the state. She stated that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s comment that “women should not go out at night” blames the survivor instead of the rapists, reinforcing a patriarchal rape culture that justifies violence against women.
“Women have the right to step out at any time. The cause of rape is not a woman’s dress, movement, or lifestyle. The purpose of rape is control, to deny women their personhood and treat them as objects of domination. From Nirbhaya to the Take Back the Night movement, the slogan has been clear: We demand safety, not surveillance. We demand unconditional freedom, not control,” added Indrani Dutta.
Reports indicate that the survivor, a student at Durgapur College, was lured outside by a classmate and then gang-raped on Friday night, 10 October 2025. Private colleges charging exorbitant fees in the name of quality education have failed to ensure safety, while the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) continues to allow a climate of gender-based violence across educational institutions.
Comrade Chandrasmita Chowdhury, condemning sexual violence against women, said that across the state the culture of rape, intimidation, and insecurity is being hidden under the pretext of blaming the survivor, an attempt to evade administrative accountability.
Archana Ghatak of AIPWA, AICCTU leader Sheela De Sarkar, and gender activists Soma Marik and Shatabdi Das also addressed the meeting. The protest was conducted by Mitali Biswas, with protest songs performed by the cultural group Naihati Agnibeena.
