Key Points
. Criminalizing marital rape would be excessively harsh, the Indian government has said, in a blow to campaigners ahead of a long-awaited Supreme Court decision that will affect hundreds of millions of people in India for generations.. ..
But across the world, about 40 countries do not have legislation that addresses the issue of marital rape and among those that do, the penalties for non-consensual sex within marriage are significantly lower than other rape cases,according to the United Nations Population Funds2021 State of World Population review.. . Campaigners in India have long fought against the clause, with the countrys top court currently hearing petitions seeking to amend it, after the Delhi High Court delivered a split verdict on the issue in 2022.. ..
The governments written affidavit is its clearest position yet on the issue of marital rape in India.. . Advocates for criminalization said thegovernments arguments were not surprising, but it represents a step back for women already living in a deeply patriarchal society where sexual violence is rampant.. ..
Weve normalized that sexual violence is a part of being a woman in our country.. . . In July, Prime Minister Narendra Modis government overhauled the countrys 164-year-old penal code with new criminal laws, but the exemption for marital rape stayed on the books.. . India has struggled for years to tackle high rates of violence against women, with a number of high-profile rape cases sparking nationwide anger and drawing international headlines.. ..
In May, a judge in Madhya Pradesh dismissed a womans complaint that her husband committed unnatural sex by citing the countrys marital rape exemption and saying in his judgement that in such instances, consent of the wife becomes immaterial.. . . AIDWAs Dhawale said women often remain trapped in abusive households with no recourse or way out, especially if she is financially reliant on her husband.. ..
