PRESS RELEASE 15 October 2015

For immediate release

Black, South Asian and Minority Women’s Organisations and Academics write to Narendra Modi about gender violence

With less than a month to go till Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK, all the major South Asian, Black and minority ethnic women’s organisations involved in combatting violence against women, together with more than 20 prominent South Asian women academics from British universities have written to Narendra Modi expressing their deep disquiet about the escalation of violence against women since he came to power. Citing detailed evidence, they write that they are particularly concerned about the Indian Prime Minister’s relationship with the RSS which they describe as ‘a paramilitary organisation modelled on the Italian Fascist and German Nazi parties known, along with its allied groups, for its violent misogyny openly displayed in the pronouncements of its leaders’.

They write that Mr Modi’s cabinet ‘includes a number of ministers against whom criminal cases, including rape, are pending’ and urge him to dismiss them and also dismiss, Amit Shah who, they note ‘directly incited rape’ in April 2014 calling on Hindus to ‘take revenge’ on ‘those who have been ill treating our mothers and sisters’. Citing a number of instances of rape by men from groups allied to the RSS they point out that Mr Modi did not condemn the rapists or launch an investigation into the right-wing Hindu organisations which support them.

Finally they urge the Prime Minister to make his position clear: ‘ Do you approve of the hate crimes, patriarchal violence and misogyny perpetrated by the RSS and its affiliated organisations? If not, we urge you to openly condemn these organisations’.

for further information contact Freedom Without Fear Platform

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