Mumbai: Following the rise in attacks by cow vigilantes, a photographer has started a project of taking photographs of women wearing cow masks.

Photographer Sujatro Ghosh who is concerned about the women’s safety in India says, “People are getting lynched in this country to protect cows. But women’s safety is neglected and violence against women is rising. If we can protect cows, then why not women? I hope people get the message and realise we need to protect women with at least as much zeal as we protect cows.”

Ghosh started taking photographs of his friends and family wearing cow masks initially. After he uploaded these photographs on social media, he is now flooded with offers from women across the nation to pose for his photographs. He has decided to take the project across India with the help of crowd funding.

The photographs of woman on a street, woman playing piano, woman lounging in a boat and woman at a restaurant highlighting violence against women have gone viral. Some people have even attacked him on social media for his new project.

More than 327,390 crimes against women were registered in India in 2015, an increase of more than half since 2010. There has also been a surge in violence against people accused of harming cows. Earlier this month, a 16-year old boy was stabbed to death on a train on suspicion of carrying beef, the latest victim of cow-related violence since 2010.

Inputs from NDTV