INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, should pay more attention to women in the country, Christine Lagarde, the IMF chief, said at a
media conference in Washington on Thursday.This is the second time in four months that she has called out PM Modi on the condition of women
At the World Economic Forum meet in January, Ms Lagarde said she had told PM Modi that he did not mention the women of India enough in his
speech to the summit and "it's not just a question of talking about them"."I was hoping he would have said a bit more
Wish he had talked a bit about girls and Indian women," she had then told TheIndianSubcontinent
That nudge was grounded in economics as well
She believes economies do better when its women do better.Ms Lagarde's fresh reminder to the Indian authorities to take care of its women
comes against the backdrop of reports about an eight-year-old in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua was kidnapped, drugged and held for several days
while she was raped repeatedly and then murdered.The Indian Monetary Fund managing director called it a "revolting" crime."What has happened
(in India) is just revolting
I would hope that the Indian authorities, starting with Prime Minister Modi pay more attention because it is needed for the women of India,"
she told reporters when asked if India's economic reforms were inclusive enough.The horrific details of the suffering that the young girl
had endured before her death in January emerged this month when the police filed charges against the eight accused, evoking national
outrage.PM Modi was also criticised by activists for his silence and reluctance to reign in BJP leaders who were seen to supporting the
This case had coincided with news about another minor fighting for justice, blaming the police for not acting against a BJP lawmaker Kuldeep
Singh Sengar who had allegedly raped her last year.PM Modi did make a fleeting reference to the rapes at an event last week but many
activists insist that he needs to speak, and do more.Protests to demand that the government take concrete steps to check sexual violence
against women followed PM Modi to London
One of them, Navindra Singh, an Indian-born lawyer who lives in Britain, told Reuters that the government was "doing nothing, and you feel
sorry for the families because of the total injustice of it all".PM Modi, who in the run-up to the 2014 elections had campaigned against the
previous Congress-led coalition for crimes against women, had yesterday asked political parties to not politicise the crime."When a child is
raped we cannot compare these incidents in numbers for different governments
Rape is rape How can we accept this" PM Modi said at an event on Wednesday
A UK-based student group denied entry to this event had claimed that they didn't get the final invite because they wanted to ask him about
steps that he was taking to protect women.
