‘Reclaim the Night’: Women’s Action Against Rape and Femicide in India

A 31-year-old female doctor was found raped and murdered while taking a break in a seminar room at the hospital where she worked. 

This horrific case prompted massive acts of grief and outrage spread across 100 points in Kolkata and the state of West Bengal.

On August 15, India’s Independence Day, thousands of women marched in the middle of the night and chanted ‘Reclaim the Night’. 

What is “Reclaim the Night”?

The ‘Reclaim the Night’ or ‘Take Back the Night’ movement is a global protest and campaign against violence against women.

The movement first started in Leeds, England, in 1977. At that time, hundreds of women in Leeds took to the street to demand the right to safety. This movement later spread to many cities in the UK.

Some sources say that the ‘Reclaim the Night’ action is historically connected to the actions taken by women activists. This was after the 1976 conference of “The International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women” in Belgium. Women took action at night in European cities: Brussels and Rome. It was a form of protest against all forms of violence against women.

Meanwhile, the ‘Reclaim the Night’ action became popular in the UK due to the serial violence, murder and mutilation of dozens of women in Leeds, Bradford and several towns in the Yorkshire region.

The case of violence and serial murder in Leeds, England, known as the ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ has captured the public’s attention. It became the largest crime investigation in British history. The local police concluded that it was a case of serial murder of female sex workers based on hatred. However, in short space of time, the murders resumed. It created a situation of horror in the Leeds area in particular. The victims and survivors are not just sex workers. But also students, working women, and girls who are in public spaces at night. The case is a terror for women and the most extreme form of misogynism.

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The police gave an appeal for women not to go out at night or must be accompanied by a man when out at night. Feminist women activists then felt that there was a wrong perspective on the appeal. They think that public spaces and nighttime should be a safe place for all, not just for men. These feminist activists also criticized the police for ignoring the fact that cases of violence and serial killings also happened to women who were not sex workers. They also criticized how the mass media reported cases of violence against women by focusing on the morals and lifestyle of the victim instead of the crime.

The ‘Reclaim the Night’ movement is now a global movement as a form of solidarity and resistance to gender-based violence in several countries: Australia, Slovenia, America, and India. 

This is not the first time that protests have been organized in India. In 2012, a similar action with the slogan ‘Take Back the Night’ took place during a case of gang rape on a bus in Delhi. Then in 2017, actions were taken after cases of mass harassment of women on New Year’s Eve. Hundreds of women protested in 20 Indian cities to ‘Reclaim the Night’ to demand the right to safe public spaces. violence against women in public spaces has become an epidemic, including in Indonesia. 

Femicide and Safe Space in Indonesia

The ‘Reclaim the Night’ action is a struggle against violence against women. It specifically highlights the safety of public spaces and nighttime. This is also a demand for the state to ensure the availability of safe space for women.

However, violence against women also occurs not only in public spaces but also in private spaces, leading to death (femicide). Women are still haunted by fear in both public and private spaces. 

In Indonesia, the number of cases of violence against women in public spaces (schools, public transportation, roads) show as increasing trend as well as in private spaces (inside the home). Violence is becoming more extreme, not only at night but also during the day, not only in physical spaces. But also in digital spaces.

In the context of gender-based violence, there has been much progress in terms of policies in Indonesia championed by the women’s movement. Indonesia has regulated rape in the Criminal Code, regulated domestic violence in the domestic violence law. The most recent was the Sexual Violence Crime Law (TPKS) which includes violence in cyberspace. However, Indonesia has yet to recognize the crime of femicide in its legal and socio-political nomenclature.

Femicide is the killing of a woman because of her identity as a woman. Femicide is the most brutal and extreme violence, which is the culmination of gender-based violence. 

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National Commission on Violence against Women (KomNas Perempuan) 2023 conducted research by collecting news in the online mass media in the 2016 – 2020 timeframe. They found that there were 421 cases of femicide. Komnas Perempuan then formulated 9 types of femicide. Namely: intimate femicide (committed by spouses/ ex-spouses), cultural femicide, femicide in the context of armed conflict. Femicide in the context of the commercial sex industry, femicide against disabilities, femicide of sexual orientation and gender identity. Femicide in prison, non-intimate femicide (committed by strangers), and femicide of human rights activists. KomNas Perempuan’s study found that the majority of perpetrators were the victim’s partner (husband or boyfriends) in237 cases. 

Like other forms of gender-based violence, the number of femicide cases recorded in the media is an iceberg phenomenon. In reality, many cases of feminicide go uncovered, unreported and unreported. Even in the cases of Ronald Tannur who was caught on CCTV assaulting and killing his girlfriend in a public space at night. The case was not recognized as femicide and he was acquitted. This situation shows the urgency of recognizing forms of femicide. Also by acknowledging the crime of femicide in the legal system. By doing so, we can prevent the deaths of women. This can be done by tracing the traces of violence she has previously experienced and ensuring victims get justice. 

Translator: Theresia Pratiwi Elingsetyo Sanubari

(photo source: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP)