MARITAL RAPE & NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIA.

 The Indian Penal Code of 1860 is the statute which penalises certain actions as offences. It is a general legislation. Today, we will be talking about Marital Rape. In India, there is no special legislation pinpointing Marital rape as an offence. 

We know, that Rape under S 376 of IPC is punishable. The definition of Rape is given under S. 375 of IPC. There are other special statutes like POCSO, JJ Act etc. None of these has any provision explicitly penalizing Marital rape. But, this does not exhaust any legal remedy for any female who has undergone marital rape. It can be charged as cruelty of the husband against wife. Unnatural sex is also a punishable offence in India. So, even if we don't have any explicit provision to deal with Marital Rape, we do have other legal ways to fight against this sexual atrocity.

In India, marriage is sacred and all families live by certain code that has been passed down through generations. One of a conservative unwritten rule is that "Wife shall tolerate all the atrocities of husband or any other in- laws, so that they can have a "happy" family'. This essentially make women more vulnerable to atrocities and harassment. Though many people in this generation have a different line of thought, there are some in the society who take their spouses for granted. Even the former CJI of Supreme Court of India (Dipak Mishra) said that Marital Rape should not be an offence and there is no necessity to bring such a kind of law. Well! considering it as a women's problem, men might know very little about it. 

Countries like Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland Israel, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, The Philippines, Poland, Peru, Republic of Congo, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe have criminalized Marital Rape. This data is according to "Country Report on Human Rights Practices" by US State Department in the year 2008. 

Even though we have civil remedies available in India via Domestic Violence Act, 2005, this heinous crime would cover the impact from any civil remedy. It is no secret to say that India is very poor at the happiness index and has very high rates of atrocities against women. The autonomy of a person's body belongs to that person and it is not transferred through marriage. Marriage is essentially a social contract between two adults, but here we get our marriage arranged through elders. Many of these times, the interest of the girl is not asked and she is pushed over the cliff to join a stranger and his family over night for the rest of her life. The problem of dowry and constant life threats by husband and his family to bring more money is altogether another issue to deal with.

India is ranked as 139 by UN out of 149 nations in the 2021 happiness index. Finland is ranked as the happiest country followed by Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Norway. All these nations have criminalized marital rape. Thus, it is clear that criminalizing such an atrocious act won't decrease happiness among citizens. It won't wretch the peace in the land. The illogical argument of tolerance by women is essential in all family life is dumb. Too much tolerance is toxic. And it is more toxic when the other person take the tolerance for granted. Thus, I would say all marriages, where one of the spouses tolerate beyond a normal level and suffer discomfort and harassment in the name of pseudo cultural value is Toxic than Polonium. 

The recent development made by the Kerala High Court in a Matrimonial Appeal is remarkable. The court recently ended a 12 year old legal fight with a landmark decision touching marital rape. The wife in this instant case was going through severe physical, mental and sexual agony from the husband. With respect to this context, the husband forced wife to have sex several times. These include unnatural sex, sex in front of their own daughter, when the day when wife's mother was deceased etc. She was forced multiple times irrespective of her her will or health. The husband in this case assumed himself as the king of his wife's body. He had committed a severe case of sexual perversion. The Judges in this case ruled that "Marital rape can be a ground for divorce". The Court clearly said that autonomy over a person's body is a fundamental right. The wife is not a property of husband. 

Personally speaking, why don't men consider us women as human beings?, why do men think that a marriage is a license to beat, injure, make cry, rape or kill a women?, when will the society understand that he who commits the crime shall never be protected and she who is suffering is eligible for protection?

In my opinion, I have seen very very very few guys who think women as humans and many of them including my own father don't care if we women get hurt. Well! dear ladies it is HIGH TIME, that we stand for ourselves and to other who suffer like this. And to ladies who support this chauvinism in the name of tradition and culture, you are worst than men who commit this in the first place.

In conclusion, although we don't have any provision which criminalizes marital rape, this judgment just made a firm acknowledgment that marital rape is wrong.