Issue- �Marital rape

Anecdote
?Today�s raging debate on marital rape in India echoes arguments that go back more
than 125 years ago to the Phulmani case when a 11-year-old Bengali girl died after
being brutally raped by her 35-year-old husband. The colonial government then
proposed to increase the age of consent for sexual intercourse for a girl from 10
to 12 years. But some of India�s most prominent leaders opposed the measure, and
the Age of Consent Act was passed only in 1891, after much acrimony and argument

Issue
?According to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which defines �rape� and
�consent�, �sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife
not being under 15 years of age, is not rape�.
?Sexual intercourse can take place with or without consent, but because of the
above exception, the latter is legalised within marriage by Indian law
?Verma committee recommended to criminalize rape.
?a parliamentary committee� opposed the Verma commission�proposal saying that
entire family system will be brought under great stress if the Marital Rape�is
brought under the law.
?Recently, the government also reiterated the position adding concept�of marital
rape as understood internationally cannot be suitably applied in the Indian
context�due to various factors.
?This has revived the debate about whether the marital rape should be�criminalized
and made a punishable offence or should the status quo continue.
?Should female consent necessary in intercourse in marriages? Should lawmaker see
the other side of coin? There are other burning questions pertinent to women�s
health and status in society that need to higher attention.
?Law makers must not avoid the case by saying due to poverty,customs, illiteracy it
occurs. They must keep in mind that , illiteracy,poverty etc has become double
edged sword, one hand women are facing the heat of hunger and on the other hand,
due to illiteracy they fall pray to inhumane treatment by their husbands.

Why �a law is needed against it?

?Around 51% of cases of crimes against women registered in 2012 took place within
the construct of a marriage. Only 7.5% of these ended in convictions.
?�According to the latest National Family Health Survey,�husbands commit the
majority of the acts of sexual violence in India. Out of the total number of�rapes
reported to NFHS, 97.7% were committed by spouses of the victim
?sexual consent is the right of every woman � married or unmarried � as much as of
men, and�nonconsensual sex should be treated exactly the same, regardless of the
relationship of the�perpetrator to the victim. The absence of a law to safeguard
the same is a human right violation�and unjust towards women
?Marital rape is also considered as the violation of Fundamental�Right guaranteed
under Article 14 of the Indian constitution which guarantees the equal�protection
of laws to all persons.
?By depriving married women of an effective penal remedy�against forced sexual
intercourse, it violates their right to privacy and bodily integrity, aspects�of
the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.
?As Supreme court said, the right to life with dignity is for everyone. It does not
based on the level of education and how poor they are.
?�Financial dependency : most women are financially dependent on their husband, so
it becomes difficult to walk out of a sexually abusive relationship , with even the
law not acknowledging it as a crime. In this case criminalizing it will give women
enough support .
?Patriarchal mindset : The current mindset in most households don't seek for a
women's approval in most cases, which includes sex. This patriarchal mindset needs
to be changed to improve the position of women

Why not?
?it is essential to preserve the�integrity of marriage, which is a crucial social
institution.
?It will be tough to prove marital rape. There can be some cases where women could
use it wrongfully against their husbands.
?marital privacy�requires that the State refrain from interfering with whatever
takes place within the home.
?home is a private domain, a retreat and a shelter from the world, and�the entire
purpose of securing a right to privacy would be defeated if sexual intercourse
within�marriage could be made the subject of legal proceedings.
Way forward
?Malaysia changed its laws to that effect in 2007; Turkey in 2005; and Bolivia in
2013. The United�States began criminalizing marital rape in 1970s and most European
countries in the 1990s.
?marital rape exception � is a fundamental denial of society�s�commitment to
treating all persons with equal concern and respect.