Senior advocate Karuna Nundy, speaking at the TIME 100 Gala earlier in June, warned that the laws are designed to restrict the rights of women and that patriarchy comes back like 'cancer and metastasising in court judgments.'
In a video tweeted by the Time magazine's Twitter account, Nundy says:
"We see a version of this story every day. Patriarchy is coming back like cancer and metastasising in court judgments – at work and in the very spirits and bodies of women and queer folk."
She added that there's so much an "unbounded spirit can do, given a chance."
Nundy spoke about how she helped a survivor of marital rape through "tunnels of legal procedure," and how the person is now a flourishing writer in Bollywood.
Nundy is one of the lawyers in India who is fighting to remove the exception over the criminalisation of marital rape.
'Not Just a Lawyer but Activist': Nundy's Profile on Time
Writing Nundy’s profile on Time, Menmaka Guruswamy, senior advocate at the Supreme Court, said, “Often the legal world is seen as an insular realm of stiff shirts and dry arguments. Karuna Nundy, however, is not just a lawyer but also a public activist who ably – and bravely – uses her voice both inside and outside the courtroom to bring about change.”
“She is a champion of women’s rights who has advocated for the reform of antirape laws and fought cases relating to sexual harassment in the workplace. Most recently, she is litigating a challenge to India’s rape law that contains a legal exemption for marital rape,” Guruswamy added.
She added, “Karuna also takes great pains to explain legal issues in a way that engages the media and public. She can discuss the law simply and deftly. By doing so she creates an accessible discourse about rights in a time when those rights are at risk.”
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)