From Harsha to Heer:

A Study of Marital Rape

Narratives from India and
Pakistan

Siddharth Baral
P.G Department of
English,Utkal University
Semester - III
Exam Roll No.-
10711V173029
 Aim of the Project:
This project aims to explore the portrayal of
marital rapes in the repressed societies of
India and Pakistan through Sarojini Sahoo's
Goddess in Exile and Tehmina Durrani's
Blasphemy.
 Rationale:
It has been observed that in literature
texts dealing with rape and sexual
assaults are significantly low and the
number further decreases when it
comes to the portrayal of marital rape in
particular.It therefore, becomes
imperative to study and engage with
narratives that foreground the issue of
marital rape especially in societies that
live in constant denial of such acts .
 Objectives:
1)to study the legal history of marital rape
i.Lord Hale's doctrine (1736)
ii.Blackstone's theory of unities
iii.Laura X publicizing marital rape
iv.criminalization of marital rape in USA in 1993
v.U.N.'s Women's Conference voted for the
resolution of consensual sex
2) how and in which circumstances marital rapes
occur
3) normalisation of marital rape in the repressed
societies
 Methodology:
1. A close reading of the two select texts .
2.Study of the select texts from the feminist
perspectives(especially second and third
wave).
 Literature Review:
1. "Politicsg Wails in Blasphemy by Tehmina Durrani "
by Dr. Bharti Dave(2017)
2. "Politics of Silence and Voice: A Study of Rape
Narratives by Select Women Writers from the
Indian Subcontinent" by Lahari Behera(2014)
3. "Purdah and Sexual Repression in Bapsi Sidhwa's
The Pakistani Bride and Tehmina Durrani's
Blasphemy" by Dr. Asha S.(2017)
4. "Representation of Violence Against Women in
Post-colonial Indian Writing" by Sucheta Chaturvedi
Overview of the Project:
1. Introduction
A) institution of marriage
B) definition of marital rape
C) history of marital rape
D)how law understands it
i.legal system in India and Pakistan
E)socio-religious factors
F) literary precursors and contemporary writings on
marital rapes
e.g. He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope,The
Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy andWhen I Hit You
by Meena Kandasamy
 Chapter I
Narration of Marital Rape in
Goddess in Exile
1.Harsha entering into the institution of
marriage and sudden encounter of
penetration
2.why and how Harsha suffers in the
institution of marriage
3.can helpless Harsha find a place to
hide from her husband?Is she free or
trapped?
 Chapter II
Blasphemy as a Marital Rape
Narrative
1.marriage: fairy lights were off for Heer
as in Pir Sain's haveli every other
woman is a victim
2.Heer's dreams shattered within Pir's
cage as she never owned her own body
and nights' sleep
3.Heer's sacrifices couldn't even let her
enjoy the status of a Pir's wife
 Chapter III
Reading Them Together
1.power of patriarchy is all responsible
for the victimization of
"the wives"
2.socio-religious-cultural harness on the
wives will never set the women free
3.whether it's in love or in a conjugal
relationship, consent is always needed
4.The unaided protagonists:family and
society always pay a deaf ear to them
 Conclusion:
1.hypocrisy of the patriarchal society
encourages the marital rapes and to oppress
"the wives"
2.marital rape should be recognised and
criminalized by the legal system
3.marital rape narratives are integral to the
feminist cause, they ought to be studied and
engaged with
 Works Cited
Source Books-
1) Sahoo,Sarojini.Goddess in Exile.Authorspress.2013
2) Durrani,Tehmina.Blasphemy.Penguin.1998
References
1.Behera,Lahari.Politics of Silence and Voice: A Study of Rape
Narratives by Select Women Writers from the Indian Subcontinent.PCU.2014
2.S.,Asha. S.Purdah and Sexual Repression in Bapsi Sidhwa's The Pakistani Bride
and Tehmina Durrani's Blasphemy.Indian Scholar.2017
3) Goodman, Helen.Madness In Marriage: Erotomania and Marital Rape In
He Knew He Was Right and The Forsyte Saga.Victorian Network.2012
4) Dave,Dr. Bharti.Chilling Wails in Blasphemy by Tehmina Durrani .IOSR Journal
of Humanities and Social Sciences.2017
5)Hasday,Jill Elaine.Contest and Consent: A Legal History of Marital
Rape. Chicago Unbound.2000
6)Bennice, Jennifer A.Resick,Patricia A.Marital Rape History, Research, and
Practice .Sage .2008
7) Gelles, Richard J.Power, Sex, and Violence:The Case of Marital
Rape.NCFR.1977