Forced Sex In Marriage Must Be Considered As Rape
Tanmaya is a budding journalist
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By Tanmaya Das
First publised on 2021-01-16 06:49:33
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Tanmaya is a budding journalist
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The issue of marital rape is controversial and a menace for the well being of married women. The high incidence of rape in India is rightly under focus, but increasing domestic violence (aggravated due to the lockdowns during the current pandemic phase) is something which does not get the attention it sorely deserves. Marital rape is a nonconsensual sexual activity where the spouse has the 'license' to rape his wife with impunity. In such cases, the rapist is not punished due to 'solemnized marriage.'
Providing sex to husbands on demand underlines that wives must be subservient to their husbands. Moreover, our laws have a bizarre definition of rape which say that although sex with a girl below 18 will be considered rape even with her consent, the same with a 'wife' between 15 and 18 will not be considered so even if it nonconsensual. So, the Indian laws have substantiated rape as per the age of women and her married status. The biggest problem is that the victims usually do not report the incident or incidents and bear with the abuse silently due to the fear of being thrown out of the home. They do not also have recourse under current laws.
While talking about the criminalization of 'marital rape', the term is not defined under Indian laws. Various theories support the legality of marital rapes based on the 'normalcy' of 'coerced' sex in marriages. But can forced sex ever be considered normal? More than 100 countries have criminalized marital rape, but India is an exception and one of the 36 countries with no proper laws against marital rape.
The Centre believes that decriminalizing marital rape would 'destabilize the institution of marriage'. It also argues that the definition of marital rape is disputable. The accusation may be based on some dubious assumption. What seems marital rape to someone may not appear so to another, but India has to go with what is recognized as marital rape all over the world.
It is important to consider that marital rape is unrecognized sexual abuse. Although consensual sexual activities in or outside wedlock must be treated with dignity, India needs to recognize that forced sex with one's wife is nothing but rape. Modern India must not normalize marital rape, as it is sexual abuse, without 'consent'. The normalization of marital rape shows the limitation of Indian laws. They need to be changed to provide relief to women suffering sexual abuse at the hands of their oversexed husbands.
