“I say nothing, not one word,
from beginning to end, and neither does HE.
If it were lawful for a woman to hate her husband,
I would hate HIM as a RAPIST.”
- Philippa Gregory, The Red Queen
Marriage is regarded as one of the most sacred institutions of our country, by which one legalizes their right to procreate. But when this sacredness is destroyed, this institution shatters completely and what remains is just a display of its ruins to the society. The concept of ‘Marital Rape‘ is prevalent in our society for ages though silence has been maintained around it.
The social problem of ‘Marital Rape’ is prevalent in our society for ages, though silence has been maintained around it. Marital Rape- a dirty secret; cunningly kept hidden by male-dominated society for thousands of years, is an exception to the offence of rape in India. Rape is an offence which is regarded as the highest kind of torture, inflicted upon ‘womanhood ‘. It shakes the dignity and self – respect of the woman from the very core and when it takes place within the four walls of her matrimonial home, that too by a person whom she had never thought of, it shatters her completely. She has thousands of justification within herself for suffering the crime silently. She has been provided with hundreds of protection and measures to safeguard her from the crime committed against her, by the outsiders. But when it comes to her husband, then why is she not provided with protection? The women find it even harder to recognize themselves as a victim and deal with such a situation, as they are being raped by someone they trust and love. This is the reason behind the non-consideration of women as victims because even those who considered themselves the victims are reluctant to report the cases to the concerned authorities. They fear the withdrawal from their families from reporting the matter. They often set back thinking about the future of their children, their financial dependency on their husbands and the dignity and honor of their families. This makes ‘Marital Rape‘as one of the most highly under-reported violent crimes all over the country.
In India, there are ample number of laws and enactments which have been brought into force to protect the woman from violence, which takes place against her. Such cases of violence includes dowry, cruelty, domestic violence, female infanticide and many more. Nevertheless, the most major and reprehensible wrong inside a marriage, where a spouse forces himself upon his partner discerning that it is his matrimonial right to partake in sex with his wife (with or without her consent), has been unsuccessful in gaining acknowledgement as a crime in the discernments of strategy makers. Females who are raped by their partners are probable to be raped countless times. . Husbands often rape their companions while they are intoxicated, or practice intimidation, oral terrorizations, corporeal vehemence, to force their wives into partaking in non-consensual sex with them. Marital rape is a grave difficulty that masses of womenfolk all over, have to agonize in and face such mishandling on a routine basis. It is problematic to attain precise statistics with respect to rape and violence against women within the family, in part because women are reluctant to report incidents, as females raped by their partners may waver in reporting because of domestic allegiance, dread of their user’s vengeance, incapability to vacate the bond, preserving the future of their children, or the fact that there are no stringent laws in force protecting the victims of marital rape. In spite of underreporting, marital rape indisputably has a massive influence on the existence of women who have to experience it.
Despite all of the laws to safeguard and uplift women, marital rape is the worst and the most appealing wrong which takes place within the four walls. It is considered to be the vilest crime as it is being done by a person whom the woman trusts and loves, and this betrayal is extremely hard for her to deal with and is more traumatic. Still despite all amendments, legislatures and law Commissions, the heinous crime is unable to gain recognition as a crime in the eyes of the policy makers. The chief question which now arises is that does a married woman lose her right to save her body from the lust of her husband?. Does she have any kind of protection? Can she knock on the doors of the court to penalize her cruel, inhuman husband for the offence committed by him? Will she be granted justice or any kind of protection?
In Bible, as we can read, the apostle Paul writes: "Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church." (1 Corinthians 14:34-35)However, it is also important to recognize and understand that before becoming a wife a woman is a human. Woman is a human firstly and lastly hence deserved to be treated like one. Woman is NOT a ‘Fertile Land’ waiting to be cultivated by a Man as he deemed fit nor a ‘Property’ to be bought and owned at will, but she is a human equally deserves to be honored and respected. Let us raise our voice together against MARITAL RAPE! Let us stand strong and unite against Domestic Violence! Marital Rape is a gross and gory violation of women’s rights and dignity, let us not remain silent!.
Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College. The editors are Dr Hewasa Lorin, Dr Aniruddha Babar, Nisha Dahiya and Meren. For feedback or comments please email: dot@tetsocollege.org
