*NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: *India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi launched anattack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday after a Thomson ReutersFoundation poll found the country was seen as the most dangerous for womenin the world, calling it a “shame”.
India topped the poll of experts in women’s issues due to the high risk ofsexual violence and slave labour, while war-torn Afghanistan and Syriaranked second and third followed by Somalia and Saudi Arabia.
“While our PM tiptoes around his garden making yoga videos, India leadsAfghanistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia in rape and violence against women!”Gandhi tweeted, referring to a video that Modi posted in May, accepting afitness challenge.
“What a shame for our country!” said the Congress party chief.
The survey – that repeated a similar poll in 2011 in which India was rankedfourth – sparked a storm of criticism in India, with social media users,celebrities and campaigners echoing Gandhi and slamming the right-winggovernment.
Bollywood director Alankrita Shrivastava, whose last film “Lipstick Undermy Burkha” was lauded for its examination of women and sexuality, postedthe poll findings on Twitter.
“The history of our society is entrenched in patriarchy and misogyny,” shetold the Thomson Reuters Foundation, urging the country to think againabout its treatment of women.
“We discriminate against women, there is female foeticide, there areunequal laws to property inheritance, no pay parity … These are deep rootedissues.”
Indian actor Jaaved Jaaferi wrote on Twitter: “And the winner is … Indiathe most dangerous country to be a woman, survey shows”.
Experts said India moving to the top of poll showed not enough was beingdone to tackle the dangers faced by women more than five years after therape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi made violence against womena national priority.
“Human life cannot become a political debate. The government needs to bemore involved in educating people,” said Wesley Menezes, an independentlawyer who fights human trafficking and domestic violence cases.