• Coverture Doctrine: The non-criminalized nature of marital rape dates back to the British era. The notion of blending a woman’s identity with that of her husband has a strong influence on and is derived from marital rape.
A married woman was not regarded a separate legal entity when the IPC was created in the 1860s. The IPC’s marital exemption was drafted on the basis of Victorian patriarchal traditions that did not acknowledge men and women as equals, did not allow married women to hold property, and blended husband and wife identities under the “Doctrine of Coverture.”
• Undermines the spirit of Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code: Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code was enacted to protect women and punish those who indulge in the horrific act of rape.
• Exempting husbands from punishment, on the other hand, runs counter to that goal, because the penalties of rape are the same whether a woman is married or not. Furthermore, a married woman may be in violation of Article 14: The right to equality established in Article 14 of the Indian constitution is violated by marital rape. The Exception divides women into two groups based on their marital status and protects males from committing crimes against their spouses.
As a result, the Exception allows married women to be victimised only because of their marital status, while unmarried women are protected from the same offences. Because they are legally and financially bound to their husbands, they find it more difficult to flee abusive situations at home.
• Violation of Article 21: According to the Supreme Court’s creative interpretation, rights enshrined in Article 21 include, among other things, the rights to health, privacy, dignity, safe living conditions, and a safe environment.
The Supreme Court ruled in State of Karnataka v. Krishnappa that sexual violence is an unlawful invasion of a woman’s right to privacy and sanctity, in addition to being a demeaning act.
Non-consensual sexual intercourse is considered physical and sexual violence, according to the same ruling.
The Supreme Court associated the right to make sexual activity choices with the rights to personal liberty, privacy, dignity, and physical integrity under Article 21 of the Constitution in the case of Suchita Srivastava v. Chandigarh Administration.
The Supreme Court acknowledged the right to privacy as a fundamental right of all citizens in Justice K.S Puttuswamy (Retd) v. Union of India. “Decisional privacy” is defined as “the freedom to make private decisions principally involving one’s sexual or procreative nature, as well as decisions regarding intimate relations.”
The Supreme Court has acknowledged the right of all women, regardless of their marital status, to abstain from sexual activity as a basic right guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution in all of these decisions.
As a result, forced sexual cohabitation is a breach of Article 21’s fundamental right.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.
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We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.
We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge