International Women's Day 2022: Why is marital 'rape' still not criminalized in India?
Highlights
- The world is celebrating International Women's Day today.
- On this day, know everything about 'marital rape', something still not criminalized in India.
- Marital rape refers to sexual intercourse with one's spouse, without consent.
International Women's Day 2022: The day marks the celebration of women and womanhood. From the ground to the skies, there is no place women have not reached. But can we say the same about women's safety? On International Women's Day today, know everything about 'marital rape', a term that could easily fall under the umbrellas of domestic abuse and sexual harassment, and yet is not recognized as a crime in India.
Marital Rape and Section 375
A pretty self-explanatory term, marital rape refers to sexual intercourse with one's spouse, without consent. In India, Exception 2 to Section 375 protects husbands from getting charged by their wives on charges of rape. Essentially, Indian law refuses to consider marital rape a crime. "Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.”, the law reads.
In India, a woman is only protected against sexual harassment if she is under 15 or is unmarried or separated from her spouse. Within the bounds of an ongoing marriage, rape is not a crime. As brutal as that may sound, marital rape is a burning issue in contemporary times. With increased awareness around consent, marital rape is challenged way more than it was before. Owing to this change, the conversation around marital rape has led the Delhi court to demand an answer from the Centre regarding its criminalization.
What is the Centre's stand on marital rape?
This is a question the Delhi High Court seeks, a question Centre says it is pondering over and taking inputs from states and union territories, but a question with no answer so far. The Centre submitted that it has sent a communication to all states and Union Territories seeking their comments on the issue and urged the court that the proceedings be adjourned till such time the inputs are received, reported news agency PTI.
The Central government has sent a communication on February 10 to the Chief Secretaries of all the State governments/ Union Territory Administrations as well as to the National Commission for Women.
Men's rights activists oppose criminalization of marital rape
Despite gathering support, criminalization of marital rape is also opposed by some groups, one of them being men's rights activists. In January this year, an NGO that works for men's rights told the Delhi High court that sex between a married couple couldn’t be viewed only from the perspective of consent. "It (marriage) is a milestone in life and brings with it many legal obligations. There are countervailing rights", said the advocate representing the NGO in court.
Another NGO told Delhi High Court that treating forcible sex in marriage as rape has the potential to destroy the institution of marriage.
How many countries haven't criminalized marital rape?
In the world, there are only 32 countries where marital rape is not criminalized yet, India is one of them. Countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Haiti, Laos, Mali, Myanmar, Senegal, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, Uganda, Algeria, Brunei Darussalam, Egypt, Cote d'Ivoire, Libya, Mongolia, Oman, South Sudan, Yemen, Bahrain, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Kuwait have not considered marital rape a crime yet.
