“Marital Rape” is still not a clear concept in India, heck people don’t even think of it as rape or even marital for that matter. Married women in our country have been through, and are constantly going through, this issue where even the government doesn’t even think of intervening in it is largely faced by married women who don’t have the means to fight against it.
It is believed that in India, women are 40% more likely to experience rape from their husbands than by a stranger – A statistic like this speaks highly of the conditions one has to go through. Last year, Maneka Gandhi, Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development, while answering a question in Rajya Sabha said, “It is considered that the concept of marital rape, as understood internationally, cannot be suitably applied in the Indian context due to various factors like level of education/illiteracy, poverty, myriad social customs and values, religious beliefs, mindset of the society to treat the marriage as a sacrament, etc.”
The entire statement shattered a lot of beliefs that wanted justice from the agonising rape that happened in the four walls of marriage which is less of a social custom and more of religious belief in itself.
Simar Singh went on to write on the same subject and aptly titled his slam poem – The Legal Rapist. His poem was written in the first-person basis where his words resembled the story of many Indian women who have been fed the story of, “if he’s your husband, then he can’t rape you” because rape in marriage is not rape but rather husband’s way of showing love.
The Legal Rapist – Watch The Full Video Here:
(Video Source: UnErase Poetry)
The slam poem is truly beautiful and speaks louder than what we can hear. At this point, we can only hope that the society comes out of their shallow shed and understands the agony of a marital rape survivor.
24th April 2017
Jyotsna Amla