NEW DELHI: International Monetary Fund chief (IMF) Christine Lagarde on Thursday said she hopes PM Narendra Modi pays more attention to the situation of women in the country.
It wasn’t the first time that the IMF chief has drawn PM Modi’s focus towards women issues.
Yesterday, Lagarde termed the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua “revolting” and hoped that the authorities, starting with Prime Minister Modi, to pay more attention towards it.
“What has happened (in India) is just revolting. I would hope that the Indian authorities, starting with Prime Minister Modi, pay more attention because it is needed for the women of India,” Lagarde said.
Recalling her earlier conversation with the Indian PM in Davos she had told the PM that he didn’t mention women enough while talking about India’s growth story. She said India’s GDP can grow by as much as 27% if women are brought to the same level of men.
“When I was last in Davos after Prime Minister Modi’s speech, I did tell him that he had not mentioned the women of India enough. And it’s not just a question of talking about them,” said the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund said.
Referring to her comments during January’s annual meeting in Davos of women co-chairs of the World Economic Forum, she said that “India must focus on broad-based and true inclusion of women in its economy. She also expressed concern over the high level of discrimination faced by women in rural India and emphasized that there is an urgent need to address this issue”.
She also spoke that if India should focus on the inclusion of women in its economy. “We have research to show that India’s GDP can grow by 27 percent if the women are brought to the same level of men in terms of economic and workforce participation”.
Lagarde clearly stated that it was her position and not the IMF’s view on the comment on Kathua case. However, her January comments did appear to be the IMF’s position.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
