Views : Before commenting views, I would like to declare something personal.
- I am a married man with two kids.
- Qualification LLB and LLM ( Criminology)
- Publishing a legal news blog
- Respect always the rights of women and men.
Sorry for the women activists .I have different opinion in this matter. It may be
disappointing to you .Better to stop the reading now.
Marital Rape happens everywhere in India. Nobody can deny it.
The DMK MP Kanimozhi cited the United Nations estimation that that 75 % of the married women in India are subjected to married rape.
Women activists and rights group strongly demand that a new law for punishing the marital rape offenders. Several Media house is also demanding a law for preventing and punishing the offenders- Today, Times of India published an editorial also in this matter. They all pointed out that the several foreign countries have the marital rape laws UK,US and Canada. So we can also do in our country against one billion plus population.
Can marital rape is prevented by law?
Several educated people still believe that law has a magical effect and it can prevent the all kind of social evils like Dowry, Cruelty against women ,Sexual orientation .
Dowry Prohibition act ,Domestic Violence act ,498 A section of the Indian Penal code are the examples.
What is the present status of the Dowry Prohibition act ?
It is a dead law . Now, nobody care about it. It was enacted in 1961 with great promise and hope. Greed is behind the Dowry system. No law can prevent the greed of the people.
Then one more strong law provision enacted in 1983 for preventing the cruelty against the married women - 498- A .This section is highly stringent and non-bailable offence. Husband and in-laws can be arrested by this law.
What is the impact of this law ?
Lakh of cases were registered by the provision of this law.
People arrested across the India . The husband , Parents ,Grant Parents ,Brothers ,Sisters -all are arrested and sent to jail.Thousands of cases are being registered in India every year.
Recently Supreme court declare some guidelines for preventing the routine arrest of police . This law section is widely misusing for several years. Two years before , Supreme court commented on this matter-"Finding the truth behind dispute is a herculean task ,Misusing the law is very common"
It is find that more than 10,000 cases are false allegation.
Now Government is considering to change the law as a bailable offence.
However, women activists are not happy against the changes of the law even though most of the victims are women .
Anybody believes that this law prevent any kind of cruelty against the married women? No .
Does this law brings happiness and safety to the married women? No.
Then what purpose meet this law ? Nothing.
Who are the real beneficiaries of this law?
- Corrupt police collect lot of money as bribe.
- Lawyers get lot of cases and get money from clients
- The women and the supporting people get big compensation and do legal
revenge to the husband and in-laws.
So what is the real condition of the Indian Married women?
That is real tragedy which is ignored by everybody. The married women are abused sexually ,physically ,financially and emotionally by the husbands in India. The drunken and suspicious husbands beating them . In- laws harassing them. Usually they do not get help from their own family and government departments. At last some of they get depressed and ended with suicide (The suicide of Dr. Priya of AIMS hospital is the recent example)
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Dead and Uprooted laws
Dowry prohibition act is already dead. Leave it
Domestic violence act - That is not functional . Love and respect cannot be implemented by law.
498 A- This provision is not helpful for the needy women who wish to continue
the relation. It is hard tool for breaking the marriage .It is helpful for breaking the marriage not for making.
Section 377 also there .
Imprisonment range goes 10 year to life.
This provision is applicable for "unnatural sex". It is applicable to both men and women. However, Men the more vulnerable to this law provision
Now ,this section is being used by some women for getting an easy divorce.
What will happen if a Marital Rape law is enacted?
Does it stops Marital rape? No.
Does it decline the number of marital rape? No.
Any woman will ready to go court for proceeding this accusation against the partner? No women who wish to continue the relation will not approach court or police. It can only helpful for breaking a relation.
All marital related laws have very good intention. To protect the women from domestic violence ,cruelty, sexual abuse. However, all are counter productive .It will not help the needy woman. Their sorrow ,pain and agony are continuing .
One side , loud debate on tough laws are happening .....
On the other side, depressed women take the path of suicide without getting timely help. What a contradictory situation?
What are the Real solution ?
Happy family is the backbone of the every country. Make sure the happiness and satisfaction of the family is the responsibility of the government. How it can be achieved? A family health audit should be conducted nationally by the government.
Physical, emotional ,sexual ,financial part should be identified and analysed by this Audit. The needy family should get timely professional help to overcome issue. The all government department should be involved to help the needy family. The central and state family and welfare department can do a major role in this matter. National women Commission , women activists and right groups can join in this mission-"Save family &Save India" mission .The NGOs, religious and social organisation should come forward for helping the needy family . The law should come on the second stage as a supporting tool. Making some uprooted laws are not a solution for making a happy and healthy family.
So law is not a remedy for the real needy people. They want a timely comprehensive support .
Centre says marital rape not a crime as marriage is sacrosanct in India, activists cry foul
New Delhi: India is split down the middle and the Union Home Ministry is under fire for its remark that the concept of marital rape cannot be applied in India as marriage is treated sacred in the country.
Upping the ante against marital rape, DMK MP Kanimozhi said that it should be criminalised. "All Parliamentarians should come together on this issue. There should be a debate and India should amend its regressive laws. Marital rape should be criminalised. Our laws are obsolete."
The Home Ministry remarks came after Kanimozhi cited a United Nation estimate that 75 per cent of the married women in India are subjected to marital rape.
Even though there have been massive protests against rape all over the country in the last few years, the stand taken by the Home Ministry on married women being forced by their husbands to have sexual relationship with them against their will is seen as a regressive step. It sends out a message that the government considers illiteracy, poverty and the sacrament of marriage more precious than the protection and safety of the women.
"There should be no limits on a woman's freedom. Women must have right to oppose force even from husband," said Delhi Women Commission Chairperson Barkha Singh.
The issue was discussed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when Kanimozhi raised it and asked a written question on the topic. Replying to Kanimozi, Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said, "It is considered that the concept of marital rape, as understood internationally, cannot be suitably applied in the Indian context due to various factors, including level of education, illiteracy, poverty, myriad social customs and values, religious beliefs, mindset of the society to treat the marriage as a sacrament."
Hitting out at Chaudhary, former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising said, "There is a need to amend the law. Rape is rape. The reason cited by the minister is incorrect and wrong."
In fact even the judiciary is of the view that a husband can have forced sex with his wife. The Delhi High Court in February 2015 refused to entertain a PIL challenging a provision in the penal law which does not consider rape as the sexual intercourse of a man with his wife who is a minor noting that a similar matter has been junked by the apex court.
A bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice RS Endlaw dismissed as withdrawn the plea of an NGO highlighting the exception in Section 375 of the IPC which states that sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape.
"Similar matter has been dismissed by the Supreme Court. We don't see anything into this petition," the bench said after which the NGO withdrew its plea.
Rit Foundation had submitted that the exception in section 375 was brought by way of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2013, which was enacted after the horrific gangrape case of December 16, 2012.
In its petition, it had claimed that the exception to Section 375 of the IPC was to the extent that it grants immunity to a husband by raping his own wife, who is above age of 15 years, was unconstitutional.
It submitted that the exception was "unconstitutional and violative of the Right to Equality guaranteed to married women under Article 14 of the Constitution as it decriminalises rape when the perpetrator is the lawfully wedded husband of the victim."
It had said that even though the law made a distinction between married and unmarried woman in this case, the basis of distinction does not have any rational nexus with the object sought to be achieved by the law, which is to protect women from sexual assault.
The petition had also stated that marital rape has been criminalised in almost all major common law jurisdictions throughout the world, including in the US, the UK, South Africa and Canada.
Upping the ante against marital rape, DMK MP Kanimozhi said that it should be criminalised. "All Parliamentarians should come together on this issue. There should be a debate and India should amend its regressive laws. Marital rape should be criminalised. Our laws are obsolete."
The Home Ministry remarks came after Kanimozhi cited a United Nation estimate that 75 per cent of the married women in India are subjected to marital rape.
"There should be no limits on a woman's freedom. Women must have right to oppose force even from husband," said Delhi Women Commission Chairperson Barkha Singh.
The issue was discussed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when Kanimozhi raised it and asked a written question on the topic. Replying to Kanimozi, Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said, "It is considered that the concept of marital rape, as understood internationally, cannot be suitably applied in the Indian context due to various factors, including level of education, illiteracy, poverty, myriad social customs and values, religious beliefs, mindset of the society to treat the marriage as a sacrament."
Hitting out at Chaudhary, former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising said, "There is a need to amend the law. Rape is rape. The reason cited by the minister is incorrect and wrong."
In fact even the judiciary is of the view that a husband can have forced sex with his wife. The Delhi High Court in February 2015 refused to entertain a PIL challenging a provision in the penal law which does not consider rape as the sexual intercourse of a man with his wife who is a minor noting that a similar matter has been junked by the apex court.
A bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice RS Endlaw dismissed as withdrawn the plea of an NGO highlighting the exception in Section 375 of the IPC which states that sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape.
"Similar matter has been dismissed by the Supreme Court. We don't see anything into this petition," the bench said after which the NGO withdrew its plea.
Rit Foundation had submitted that the exception in section 375 was brought by way of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2013, which was enacted after the horrific gangrape case of December 16, 2012.
In its petition, it had claimed that the exception to Section 375 of the IPC was to the extent that it grants immunity to a husband by raping his own wife, who is above age of 15 years, was unconstitutional.
It submitted that the exception was "unconstitutional and violative of the Right to Equality guaranteed to married women under Article 14 of the Constitution as it decriminalises rape when the perpetrator is the lawfully wedded husband of the victim."
It had said that even though the law made a distinction between married and unmarried woman in this case, the basis of distinction does not have any rational nexus with the object sought to be achieved by the law, which is to protect women from sexual assault.
The petition had also stated that marital rape has been criminalised in almost all major common law jurisdictions throughout the world, including in the US, the UK, South Africa and Canada.
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