The UN has strongly condemned the rape and murder of two Dalit girls in Uttar Pradesh, calling it a "horrendous crime" and stressed that all citizens should be protected by the law.
"The rape and death of the two girls, who were hanged from a tree, is a horrendous crime. There are some incidents (where) words are difficult to choose. It was clearly a horrendous incident," Stephane Dujjaric, US Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson, told PTI.
Dujjaric added that, "Every man, every woman deserves to be protected by the law."
On a question that the killings were motivated by caste, Dujaric said, "We have seen the harm that traditional practices can do against women and whatever the reason is we have seen the results and it needs to be condemned in the strongest possible term."
The two minor Dalit girls had gone missing since Tuesday afternoon in Uttar Pradesh's Badayun district. On Wednesday, their bodies were found, hanging from the tree, which led to a huge public protest in the area and a massive outcry across the state.
"The incident underscores the wave of violence that is being seen against women whether in India, Pakistan or the gender-based violence in general," Dujjaric said.
He referred to the recent killing of three women in California in a shooting spree by 22-year-old man who was frustrated over being rejected by women as well as to the tragic killing in Pakistan of a pregnant woman who was stoned to death for marrying the person of her choice.
Dujjaric said all the incidents "clearly targetted women".
He reiterated that Ban has spoken out forcefully against violence against women and has "encourged all those who can do something about it to do so", adding that the UN chief had started a campaign a few years ago encouraging men to stand up opposing violence against women.
