NEW DELHI: The Government of India has said the concept of marital rape cannot be applied in India as marriage is held sacred and is considered as a sacrament in the Indian society.
The government’s stand comes against the backdrop of the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommending to India to criminalise marital rape.
Member of Parliament Kanimozhi had questioned the Home Ministry whether the government was considering an amendment bill to remove the exception of marital rape from the definition of rape.
The Member of Parliament had also added that according to United Nations Population Fund that 75% of the married women in India were subjected to marital rape and whether government has taken cognisance of the fact.
Replying to Kanimozhi, Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said in the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House of the Indian Parliament: 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.
Chaudhary said the Ministry of External Affairs and ministry of women and child development have reported that UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women has recommended to India to criminalise marital rape.
Chaudhary further added that “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.
Last week a private member bill to amend the existing laws to treat marital rape as a crime was tabled in the parliament.
Moving the bill, Congress leader Avinash Pande quoted a report as saying that one in five men have forced their wives for sex, while another one says that marital rape cases were to the tune of 9-15 per cent in the country.
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