India approves death penalty for rape of girls under 12

21 April 2018 07:03 pm Views - 15312

Indian cabinet today approved the death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years amid outrage in the country after a string of horrific cases of sexual violence, the Reuters reported a whort while ago.

In the emergency meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cabinet also passed an executive order to amend the criminal law to also include more drastic punishment for convicted rapists of girls below the age of 16 years.

According to Reuters, sexual violence against women is a highly charged political issue in India, where protests regularly erupt about entrenched violence against women and the failure to protect them.

Many people have criticized Modi’s government for not doing enough to protect the country’s women, piling pressure on his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as India heads towards a general election due next year.