Smriti Irani's UN speech draws flak from Shiv Sena; silence on Hathras rape questioned

On Friday, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi hit out at Union Women & Child Development Minister Smriti Irani for her alleged silence on the Hathras gangrape case. Her comment came in the wake of Irani's address on 'Accelerating the Realization of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women & Girls' at a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Chaturvedi lamented that Irani was busy speaking about women's empowerment while remaining silent on heinous crimes against women in India. According to her, this was a classic example of hypocrisy. 

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'Centrality of gender equality' 

Speaking at the Beijing +25 high-level meeting, Irani elaborated on the initiatives of the Modi government pertaining to women's development. She opined that inclusive growth and deep reforms are bringing a transformational change in the lives of women. Moreover, she stressed that the focus was on facilitating women-led development. 

Union Minister Smriti Irani remarked, "In India, we recognise the centrality of gender equality and women's empowerment in all aspects of our developmental agenda. We are focus on inclusive growth and deep reforms that together are bringing about transformational changes. Under the visionary leadership of Narendra Modi, we have moved from the paradigm of women's development to women-led development."

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The Hathras gangrape case

A 19-year-old woman in a village in UP's Hathras district was brutally gang-raped by 4 men when she was collecting fodder for her cattle on September 14. The victim, who was initially admitted to a local hospital in Hathras was shifted for further treatment to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital. She succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday, September 29. Four persons have been arrested by the police in this case.

Amid huge protests outside the hospital demanding justice for the deceased woman, her body was brought to the village by the police at around 1 am on Wednesday. In an official statement, the Hathras Police refuted the notion that the body was forcefully cremated in the dead of the night without conducting the final rites. However, the victim's family claimed that its request for the body to be taken to the house and carrying out the cremation after sunrise was turned down by the police.

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