MARITAL RAPE

Marriage is the most beautiful moment of every girl, and a newly wedded bride is the most
beautiful thing, eyes can ever feast on.
But, there are some parasites in our society who take this opportunity in their own vicious
ways, and change the lives of their wife into whole other world.
According to stats of 2013, an estimated 27,515,391 women aged fifteen to forty-nine years
experienced sexual violence in India.Of these, 2,522,817 of the women affected were aged
fifteen to nineteen years old. This age group only accounts for 9% of the female
population. However, this age group experiences 24% of the rape cases in India.
It is believed that rape reports are low due to marital rape being legal in India. It is estimated
that only 1% of rapes are actually reported.
Marital rape is an issue, which is to be shushed in our surroundings. Any matter between
husband and wife is supposed to be personal, and god help any outsider who tries to interfere
in their matter; that’s the mentality of Indian society; Well proud to say that it used to be.
Now there are loud repercussions against any kind of domestic violence, battery sexual
abuse, and even marital rapes.
Unfortunately, our law enforcement lags behind in this field. You see, there are large number
of victims but there is no filed complaints against marital rape. Police authorities have a say
that, they cannot lodge a complaint against a law which has not amended yet.
Senior lawyer Indira Jaising, appointed as amicus curiae on a group of petitions on safety of
women following the Delhi gang rape of 2012, Ms. Jaising also recommended that instead of
registering cases under Section 377 of the IPC, which is violative of constitutional provisions,
the police should register cases under Section 376.
“When the criminal laws were amended in 2013, I had sought to make it an offence if a
separated husband forced himself on his wife (Section 376). Though that was a victory, [the
law] doesn’t doesn't take care of women who are not separated,” Ms Jaising said.
In the absence of a law, there is no data on the number of marital rapes cases being reported.
“We don't have documentation because police don’t record the complaints and the data can
come only when it becomes a law. But even if one woman comes forward, it is still an issue,”
said Ms Jaising.
So, where do these victims end up? Well, In most of the cases, the women are reluctant to file
the cases, as they have fear of being tortured and losing the roof on their head. Regardless of
hardships, which women gather the guts to report the case, they either continue to follow up
at the police stations, or they change their address and place of residence to seek anonymity
from their spouse. It usually happens either, due to lethargic behaviour of police authorities or
reluctance from the hospital authorities.
No wonder why women are shushed, when it comes to discuss their married life. Although
Hospitals and NGOs claim that women do share their distress, but it is veiled under other
problems they share such as, they talk about it along with the other problems they face, such
as husband not giving money.

There was a recent gruesome case, where a man administered electric shocks to his wife’s
vagina, lawyer Manisha Tulpule, who handles cases of domestic violence and family matters,
said the woman complained after enduring 25 years of this: “The woman was over 50 when
she complained.
Summing it up, in a nutshell, I believe our law enforcement has to become more wide sighted
and turn the tables against the rapists and sadists, who in the disguise of husband, eat up the
humanity to its hollow.