Marital Rape

Rape. The word is enough to send shivers down the spine. It’s one of the most gruesome and heinous act of crime. What if a person you trust does it? What if the person you think cares for you does something like this?


I’m not saying marital rape is worse than rape. There’s no comparison. Rape of any kind is a criminal offence and must be punished. Rape puts the person through both physical and mental harassment. This is worsened when the crime is committed by someone who’s supposed to look after you and protect you. Marital rape is unfortunately quite common in India. Worst still, it’s not punishable under the Indian Penal Code. Some men treat their wives as property and not a human being. They force them to have intercourse thinking it’s their right. Such mentality has to be changed to lower the crimes.


Another problem women face is coming out to complain against their husband. Social stigma, lax laws and family pressure are only few of the many factors that stop her from complaining. She decides to just live with it, hoping it’ll stop. But this is just out rightly stupid. A woman has as much of a right to live her life with dignity as a man does. We need to get rid of this sick mentality that the society has come up with. Women need to stand up to their rights and lead a life no different than men. NGOs must come forward to help such women since it’s very tough for her. Also, our laws must be amended – just because that man is the woman’s husband doesn’t make him any less of a criminal. Strict laws should be there which should not have any loop holes so that such lowly people cannot escape.

By-
Pashmina Lakhanpal