Marriage is a sacred institution in India – one that has no space for a concept like marital rape.

Or at least, that’s what the Minister of State (MoS) for Home, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary believes.

The government’s statement came in response to a written question posed by DMK MP Kanimozhi in the Rajya Sabha. Kanimozhi had asked the Home Ministry if the government would bring a bill to amend the Indian Penal Code to expand the definition of rape so as to include marital rape.

She also wanted to know if the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women had recommended criminalising marital rape to India.

The government replied by saying,

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, the mindset of the society to treat the marriage as a sacrament.
– Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary, Minister of State for Home

The government’s reluctance to acknowledge the ‘concept’ of marital rape, citing the cultural notions attached to marriage in India, have come under fierce criticism from all quarters – activists, lawyers and politicians.

Currently, the law makes an exception for marital rape only if the wife is under 15 years of age. However, if she is above the age of 15 and is suffering forced sexual acts within a marriage, she has no criminal law to take recourse to. And it is this ‘exception’ that has become a point of contention.

One of the strongest arguments against the government’s stand has been that the exclusion of ‘marital rape’ from the definition of ‘rape’, is in violation of the values of equality between man and woman as enshrined in the Constitution.

The minister has said that this country is not ready to acknowledge marital rape, culturally. But the minster needs to be reminded that he has taken oath on the Constitution, not on any cultural mindset or religious beliefs. The Constitutional equality between man and woman needs to be respected. Not recognising marital rape doesn’t respect equality.
– Vrinda Grover, Lawyer and Women’s Rights Activist

Yet, there remain dissenters – especially those who feel that including marital rape in the definition of rape will mean inviting the police, law and judiciary into marriage between two consenting adults.

If marital rape is brought under the ambit of law, then you are inviting the police and law into the bedroom. Every time a man is thinking of having sex, he will think whether this is consensual or not. When a husband uses sexual violence against a separated wife, then it would be rape. But if it’s a long marriage and there are children, then there are other factors to look at.
– Sanjay Hegde, Lawyer

Social media too, is divided on whether marital rape should be brought under law and made punishable.

There’s a bigger question here that dissenters seem to be forgetting, however. Does simply refusing to recognise a thing mean it doesn’t exist? If the ‘concept’ of marital rape cannot be applied to India, does it mean that instances of marital rape in the country automatically vanish?

We pose the same question to you: Should the definition of rape be expanded to include marital rape? Or will the purported ‘sacredness’ of marriages in India continue to blind us to the reality of marital rape?

Let us know in the comments below.