India's Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma called on women visiting the country to prevent from wearing skirts for their own safety.
While this may be a part of the process to rectify India's reputation of rampant sexual assaults, the attempt has simply backfired drawing online public outcry.
But Sharma, father of two girls, explained that the ban is intended as a precaution for women against sex offenders.
This is not the first time that the minister received a backlash for his comments. Last year, his statement "nights out for girls were not part of Indian culture," did not fare well with the public.
He also vowed to defend India from "encroachment by Western culture."
Being a Hindu nationalist of the Bharatiya Janata Party, his expressions tread on India's deep and divisive intercultural differences. He clarified that western sophistication is not bad but only distinctive to Indian views.
He also said that tourists should be aware of the sensitivities affiliated with temple towns like Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan.
Four years after the gang rape incident involving a 23-year old medical student, a tougher anti-rape provision is still nowhere to be found. Statistics show that a hundred rape cases are reported daily but only one in four leads to conviction.
While India modified its laws to broaden the definition of rape, high-profile intimate incidents continue to surface which ultimately questions India's commitment to protect its women.
