Sudipta Mishra, Puri, 7 October 2023
In 2015, the RIT Foundation of Delhi filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging the legitimacy of the “marriage exception” in the rape law. The High Court issued a notice to the central government.
In 2016, the central government filed an affidavit saying that marital rape can not be criminalized.
In 2017, the organization AIDWA (All India Democratic Women’s Association) filed a similar appeal. But, the central government opposed it by stating that the criminalization of marital rape may “destabilize the institution of marriage.”
In December 2021, the hearing resumed again. In the subsequent months, the central government began to relook at the matter and its earlier stand. Even the government had told the court that it had begun consultation with other states.
At last, in May 2022, the Delhi High Court delivered a split decision. The Judges disagreed with each other. Justice Rajiv Shakdher favoured the criminalization of marital rape, whereas Justice C Hari Shankar didn’t seem to agree with him. He said that the provisions do not violate Articles 14,19(1)A and 21 of the Indian Constitution. Let’s discuss the exact matter!
Under exception 2, provided in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, sexual intercourse between a man and his wife is not rape if the woman is not a minor. It means a husband can forcefully uphold his sexual desire for his wife without her consent and against her will…..it shall not be a crime at all.
Given the current state of the law, non-consensual sex by a husband with his wife will not be registered as rape. Let’s discuss the humanitarian value of this.
The autonomy of a woman matters more than anything else. Is the woman a sex slave? Why can’t she not imply her choice to not have sex with her husband? Why is there coercion to have sex in our country after marriage? No sacred institution allows for rape. If marriage is a sacred institution that allows equality to both parties, then why does a man begin to sexually torture his wife? Who has given him the right to smash and sabotage the sexual preference of the woman?
A wife tolerates sexual oppression with sealed lips due to our societal and legal structures. Doesn’t it violate her right to live with dignity as conferred by our Constitution? A woman’s consent and needs matter as much as the man’s in a marriage. How many articles are violated by these autocratic rules sanctioned by the institution of marriage, which is ruling over our country with a nonchalant mindset?
We need to speak up now! Well, if a woman is forced to have sex, then, in such a regressive society, who will save her from this known monster? Almost all countries of the world have criminalised marital rape to restore the dignity of their women. What are we waiting for? Why will the criminalisation of marital rape defile the sanctity of our marriages? The man who is wedded to a woman with the holy mantras of our sacred scriptures should realize the importance of consent. Marriage never allows a husband to tarnish the dignity of a woman and break her confidence in society.
In the Hindu marriage, a married couple is always glorified and placed on the highest pedestal of our lives because of the grace and high values imbibed in them. How long will we sit silently and witness the nasty and shameless, vicious cycle of trauma borne by our mothers, sisters, and daughters?
