Indian Government's Slow Response To Rapes Poses 'Existential Crisis,' Activist Says

Published April 19, 2018 at 1:52 PM EDT

Indians carry placards and march in a rally demanding the investigation into the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in Jammu, India, Thursday, April 19, 2018. (Channi Anand/AP)

Editor’s Note: This segment discusses rape and sexual violence, and contains audio that some listeners may find disturbing or offensive.

There have been protests in northern India this week over the rape and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim girl in January. The case has taken a political turn, because two officials from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party protested in favor of the accused men, who are Hindus. Those officials resigned last week.

And another rape has been roiling India: A member of Modi’s party is accused of raping a 16-year-old, and he was only arrested earlier this month.

Here & Now‘s Eric Westervelt (@Ericnpr) speaks with Indian activist and former civil servant Aruna Roy, one of many who wrote a letter to Modi calling his government’s response “feeble and inadequate.” Modi addressed the controversy Wednesday while on a trip to London.