Health professionals in India began a 24-hour strike on Saturday, offering their services only for emergencies, in protest at the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

A 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered in August within a university hospital, with the crime sparking nationwide protests among doctors and reminiscent of the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi.

Outrage over the authorities’ failure to prevent incidents of violence against women sparked strong protests from health professionals and women’s organisations.

“Women are the majority of doctors in this country. We have repeatedly asked for security for them,” the president of the Indian Medical Association, RB Asokan, told Reuters on Friday.