MUMBAI, India: They are all pictures of women doing everyday activities: A woman on a street, a woman playing the piano in her home, a woman lounging in a boat, a woman at a table in a restaurant.
All unremarkable, except that they are wearing a cow mask.
The photographs aim to highlight the growing violence against women in India, while also drawing attention to a wave of attacks on religious minorities accused of eating beef or slaughtering cows — considered sacred by many Hindus.
“People are getting lynched in this country to protect cows. But women’s safety is neglected and violence against women is rising,” photographer Sujatro Ghosh said of his project.
“If we can protect cows, then why not women?“
Violence against women has been under the spotlight since a fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi in 2012 sparked nationwide protests about entrenched violence against women and the failure of authorities to protect them.
India has enacted tougher jail sentences for rapists and promised to try those accused through “fast-track” courts but rape, acid attacks and domestic violence remains common.
More than 327,390 crimes against women were registered in India in 2015, an increase of more than half since 2010.
But activists say many crimes go unreported because women are afraid of reprisals from their attackers, or because they are ashamed to report them.
There has also been a surge in violence against people accused of harming cows.
Earlier this month, a 16-year old Muslim boy was stabbed to death on a train on suspicion of carrying beef, the latest victim of an estimated 28 people killed in cow-related violence since 2010.
Most were killed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party won elections three years ago.
Modi last week broke his silence and condemned the violence by so-called cow protection groups, some of which have links to his party.
Ghosh, who began by photographing his friends and family in Delhi and Kolkata wearing the cow mask, said he has been flooded with offers from women to pose for his project since he began posting the pictures on social media.
He has taken about 30 photographs so far, and is raising money via crowd funding to take the project across the country.
But he has also been attacked on social media for the project, which some people see as belittling the cow.
“I hope people get the message and realize we need to protect women with at least as much zeal as we protect cows,” Ghosh said.
![]()
Indian women don cow masks to show they are less safe than cattle
Indian women don cow masks to show they are less safe than cattle
Hillary Clinton tells congressional panel she has no information on Epstein
- Former US Secretary of State says she did not recall ever meeting the late sex offender
- She accused the Republican-led panel of trying to shift focus away from Trump’s ties to Epstein
WASHINGTON: Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a congressional committee on Thursday that she did not recall ever meeting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had no information to share about his criminal activities. “I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that,” Clinton said in a statement to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee.
Clinton’s statement came as she was due to deliver a closed-door deposition to the committee in Chappaqua, New York. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, also accused the Republican-led panel of trying to shift focus away from Trump’s ties to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. She said Trump’s administration has “gutted” a State Department office focused on international sex trafficking. She and her husband, Democratic former President Bill Clinton, initially refused to testify before the committee, but relented when lawmakers moved to hold them in contempt of Congress. Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify to the committee on Friday.
Before the hearing, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, a Republican, denied that the probe was a partisan effort targeting Trump’s 2016 presidential rival, noting that several Democrats had pushed for the Clintons to testify.
“No one is accusing at this moment the Clintons of any wrongdoing,” Comer said.
He said the committee would seek to find out about any interactions she might have had with Epstein, his involvement with the Clintons’ charitable work, and any relationship she may have had with jailed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters that Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should also testify. Lutnick has admitted to visiting Epstein’s private island years after he says he broke off ties.
A spokesperson for the Clintons did not respond to a request for comment. Comer said transcripts of the Clintons’ interviews will be made public.
Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s after he left office. He has denied wrongdoing and expressed regret for his association.
According to Comer, Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Clinton was in office. Trump also socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, before his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Comer said evidence gathered by the panel does not implicate Trump.
Trump’s Justice Department has released more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents over the past several months to comply with a law passed by Congress. The Justice Department sought to draw attention to photos of Bill Clinton, but the documents also have revealed Epstein’s ties to a long list of business and political leaders, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Overseas, they have prompted criminal investigations of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, and other prominent figures.
Clinton’s statement came as she was due to deliver a closed-door deposition to the committee in Chappaqua, New York. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, also accused the Republican-led panel of trying to shift focus away from Trump’s ties to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. She said Trump’s administration has “gutted” a State Department office focused on international sex trafficking. She and her husband, Democratic former President Bill Clinton, initially refused to testify before the committee, but relented when lawmakers moved to hold them in contempt of Congress. Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify to the committee on Friday.
Before the hearing, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, a Republican, denied that the probe was a partisan effort targeting Trump’s 2016 presidential rival, noting that several Democrats had pushed for the Clintons to testify.
“No one is accusing at this moment the Clintons of any wrongdoing,” Comer said.
He said the committee would seek to find out about any interactions she might have had with Epstein, his involvement with the Clintons’ charitable work, and any relationship she may have had with jailed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters that Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should also testify. Lutnick has admitted to visiting Epstein’s private island years after he says he broke off ties.
A spokesperson for the Clintons did not respond to a request for comment. Comer said transcripts of the Clintons’ interviews will be made public.
Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s after he left office. He has denied wrongdoing and expressed regret for his association.
According to Comer, Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Clinton was in office. Trump also socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, before his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Comer said evidence gathered by the panel does not implicate Trump.
Trump’s Justice Department has released more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents over the past several months to comply with a law passed by Congress. The Justice Department sought to draw attention to photos of Bill Clinton, but the documents also have revealed Epstein’s ties to a long list of business and political leaders, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Overseas, they have prompted criminal investigations of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, and other prominent figures.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.