When we are in talks of rape and sexual harassment, under normal circumstances a person would refer to any such incident as crime. But there is one kind of rape in India that is not illegal, and it is not even considered as crime in the eyes of the law. And that is Marital Rape.
Section 375, Exception 2 of IPC, says,“sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.” A study tells us that more than 2/3rd of married women in India whose age is between 15 and 49, have been beaten, raped or forced to provide sex by their husband. In India it is not legal to rape a woman as long as you are married to her. We are living in 2021 and women needs justice.Yes! She is your wife. But she is not your property, she has an individuality. Her choice and will should be asked 24×7.
By not declaring marital rape as crime in India it strengthens men community to do whatever they wish to. Indian laws tell the society that if you want to rape a woman you should marry her, so you will not be punished. Some of the most common answers given by men are -How can it be called rape? She is my partner. If i cannot fulfill my wish with my wife then where does i go.
A girl who is 13 years old and a married woman who is 25 years old, when they both get raped they both faced the same situation and everything is just same. Then how can marital rape is not illegal? Rape is rape whether its married woman or unmarried, it doesn’t matter. Society is changing every day then why these laws are not updating. When a woman says no it means NO.