Rajasthan Woman In ICU Raped By Male Nurse; Is Any Place Truly Safe?

A 24-year-old woman who was admitted to the ICU in Rajasthan's Alwar district was allegedly raped by a nursing assistant. The nurse, Chairag Yadav, raped her around 4 am on February 27. The police have taken charge of the incident, and the investigation is underway.  As per the reports, the woman was admitted because of a lung infection and was undergoing treatment in the ICU. However, the woman recalled that the nurse administered an injection to make her unconscious when she tried to retaliate.

How did the woman tell her family about the rape? 

The police said that the woman gained consciousness later when her husband called her on her mobile phone. Then she narrated her ordeal to her family. 

The police said, "We have detained the accused, and he is being interrogated. We have also examined CCTV footage in which he is seen going to the bed and covering it with a curtain."  An FIR has been lodged, and the investigation is going on. 

Are Safety Measures Merely Lip Service?

Women's safety is at risk in every public and private domain. It is disheartening that the hospitals that cure people can damage women by giving them physical and emotional wounds. Doctors and nurses who are considered to be life-savers can actually harm women's lives in the worst way possible. Sexual predators don't change their mindset by wearing uniforms. Change comes when the basis of understanding humanity includes respecting women. 

Can women not expect to at least be cured like humans? Can they not expect doctors and nurses to treat them as humans? If women aren't safe in hospitals, how will they muster the courage to get themselves treated? Isn't treatment for illness a basic human right? Why does a woman always have to pay a price for exercising her basic rights?