Screaming statue installed outside Indian hospital where doctor was raped and murdered

Statue denounced as disrespectful for ‘immortalising’ victim’s pain

A bust installed outside a state-run hospital in India where a resident doctor was raped and killed has sparked anger and shock as it depicts a woman screaming in agony, her head thrown back and eyes wide open.

Protests erupted in India after a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found dead on 9 August at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal, during her 32-hour work shift. An autopsy confirmed she had been subjected to a sexual assault.

For the past two months, Kolkata has witnessed thousands of protests and walkouts demanding justice for the victim and safety for healthcare workers.

Junior doctors, who resumed their indefinite strike this month, unveiled a statue on the hospital premises in memory of the trainee doctor.

Titled Cry of the Hour, the black fibreglass bust portrays a woman screaming in anguish, and, according to the sculptor, it is intended to represent the last minutes of the victim’s life. A recording of a woman screaming plays alongside the sculpture.

The statue was unveiled on Mahalaya, the day that marks the beginning of the 10-day Hindu festival of Durga Puja in West Bengal.

“The statue was my way of protesting,” said sculptor Asit Sain.

While some people praised the artwork, many criticised it as “insensitive” and “disturbing” for immortalising the victim’s pain.

Doctors and social activists take part in a rally to condemn the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata (AFP via Getty)

Following the backlash, the junior doctors clarified that the statue was not of the victim but instead was a symbol of the “pain and torture she went through and the ongoing protests”.

The identities of victims and survivors of sexual violence are protected by Indian law, a fact that has been highlighted repeatedly by the Supreme Court bench hearing the case.

Users of social media did not hold back in their disapproval of the installation. “Heights of insensitivity. This is over-empathising to the point of mockery. So not needed,” wrote Twitter/X user Devlina Ganguly.

Kunal Ghosh, a former lawmaker and a member of the ruling party in West Bengal, joined the debate, posting on X that “no responsible person can do that. Not even in the name of art.”

He continued: “There will be protests and demands for justice. But the statue is not right with the face of the girl in pain.”

A junior doctor who was a colleague of the murdered doctor said that the unveiling of the statue was an “emotional moment”.

“We have been fighting for her. She is in our heart, but this installation will ensure no one ever forgets her,” the doctor told The Indian Express.

Thousands of doctors and Kolkata residents took to the streets in protest on Wednesday, demanding justice and the fulfilment of their demands relating to workplace safety.