‘Stop violence against women’: 8 stand trial for Asifa Bano rape amid mass protest

The trial of eight men accused of the gang-rape and murder of eight-year-old Asifa Bano has begun in India’s Kathua district. The accused, who include a former revenue official and two police officers, has spurred widespread protest, with the Delhi Commission for Women calling for greater punishment for people who carry out sexual assaults. One of the prosecutors, Deepika Sing Rawat, has spoken out about attempted intimidation prior to the trial. “I was threatened yesterday that ‘we will not forgive you.’ I am going to tell the Supreme Court that I am in danger,” she said.