‘Cannot be suitably applied to the Indian context.’
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: The BJP government has made it clear that the concept of marital rape, which by definition means non-consensual sex inflicted upon by the victim’s spouse, is not applicable in India.
The Minister of State for Home, Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, said in the Rajya Sabha the concept is not applicable in India as marriage is considered sacred by many societies.
“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,” he said.
His answer came as a reply to a written question posed by DMK MP Kanimozhi in which she asked the ministry about its take on making amendments in the IPC to remove the exemption given to marital rape from the broad definition of rape. She also asked if the UN committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women has asked India to criminalize marital rape.
The minister also said, “The Law Commission of India, while making its 172nd Report on Review of Rape Laws did not recommend criminalisation of marital rape by amending the exception to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code and hence presently there is no proposal to bring any amendment to the IPC in this regard.”