Rape is one of the heinous crime which can be committed against the consent of woman in society. Marital rape is a critical issue which represents the concern of human rights of woman . Marital rape is a not a new concept it exist in our society from very long period of time. It was believed that if a girl marries with boy she automatically gave her all consent to him and by this she has no right over her body and her right to raise voice also infringed by him.

Marital rape referred as the rape committed by the person whom the victim is married. In India,the thought of people about marital rape is if it happens outside the marriage then it is crime but if it happens inside the institution of marriage then it is not crime. Marital rape is a form of sexual violence and it estimated that only 10% of victims report spousal sexual abuse. In our legal framework marital rape is not crime but when we see the status of marital rape in other they criminalized.

In U.S.A, England, Canada they criminalize the marital rape. In todays society the concept of marriage has changed, people are now aware about this issue and understands the notion of marital rape but still very less number of people know about this and merely people raise their voice against this. The victim faces numerous issues like shame, guilt and also they are being blamed for the act, they also suffers from physical trauma, emotional and psychological problem, social stigma, family and community pressure.

This article deals with the widespread of the marital rape, and discussing the issue regarding main cause , cultural attitude, legal aspects, stigma, and the main challenges of marital rape.
Keywords : Marital Rape , heinous crime , psychological , social stigma , criminalized

Introduction:
Marital rape: the silent crisis in relationship
"Marital rape is not about sex but about violence, it is not about marriage , but about lack of consent. Rape is Rape and it should be penalized whenever and wherever it occurs." --Shashi Tharoor

The topic marital rape is in itself very sensitive or complex topic that no one freely talks about this because most people think that there is nothing exist like marital rape . Marital rape is a rape which is done within the institution of marriage where consent for sexual intercourse obtained forcefully or we can also call that it is done without the consent. It is also known as spousal rape.

In marital rape consent of other spouse is absent. Marriage does not give license to do rape. Marriage demands for respect not for force. In India after marriage a woman considered her husband as god but there is very less case in which husband considered their wife as a goddess . They think marriage is a free pass to rape . Consent is cornerstone for every relation it is always required whether it is marriage or not because your spouse is your partner she has also rights to say yes or no and she is not your property.

Even after 77 years of independence, women are not safe neither inside house nor outside she is always in fear that what will happen with her next ? still every seconds and every minute a women is suffering from fear of rape either by his partner or others and still they are not safe and no one is raising voice .Our society strongly devalues the voice of the women and their work too. They are always considered inferiors with low esteems and tortured as their wifely duties. The patriarchal society creates environment for women where they feel like they are in cage and always dominated by men. They considered women as a object.

If we look the data as per UN population fund[ii], it clearly shows that more than 2/3rd of married women in India aged 15 – 49 have raped and beaten by their spouse to provide sex . The most contradictory part is 56 % of women believe that it is common under marriage they consider this as justifiable.

Legal Perspective Of Marital Rape

There are large number of cases related to marital rape but unfortunately only 1% of cases are reported in our country. It is likely to believe that women in India are more than 40% likely to experience rape from their spouse rather than other or strangers. As of data of 2013 it estimated that 27,515, 390 women aged between 15 to 50 years had experienced domestic violence and steadily suffering from rape. Year by year the rate of cases are still increasing with rate of 54%. It gives you goosebumps there was a approximation quoted that in every 5-6 hours a young married woman is burnt or beaten to death or drive by suicide by emotional abuse by husband.

If we see the statistics data of marriage we see that more than 47% of girls are married when they are minor under the age of 18, it shows that they are less likely to finish their education and they are not that much older enough to handle all these issues as there is higher risk of premature pregnancy. This is shocking to know that these 94% of rape are committed in India.

Laws Regarding Marital Rape in India

Marital rape violates the following provisions of the Constitution:

• Article 21: Right to live life with human dignity
  • Marital rape violates this right. Even if a woman is married, it does not mean she is the property of her husband.
  • Marriage cannot nullify a woman's consent, her body, or her choice.
  • Dignity in marriage is important, and a wedding ring is not a license for abuse.
• Article 14: Equality before the law or equal protection of laws
  • Marital rape discriminates against women and violates the principle of equal protection of the law.
  • Women's rights are not protected, and they are not treated equally under the law.
• Violation of the Right to Privacy:
  • Marriage does not mean a woman gives away all her rights, including her right to privacy.

Indian Law on Marital Rape

Section 63 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita defines rape. It categorizes rape into four types:

• Simple rape
• Marital rape
• Custodian rape
• Gang rape

The circumstances under which it is considered rape:

• When it is against her will
• Without her consent
• Consent obtained by force, misconception, fraud, or in fear of death
• Consent given by a person who is of unsound mind
• With or without her consent if she is under the age of eighteen
• When she is unable to communicate

The status of marital rape in India is not criminalized because statement given by Supreme Court " No Need to Criminalise Marital Rape ''[vi].

The center stated to supreme court that there is no need to give marital rape as staus of crime and it is not within the jurisdiction of supreme court to give marital rape as status of crime . The center said that issue of marital rape is a social issue rather than legal one, it directly impact the society. The center accepted that the marriage does not lead to end of consent of a woman however it added the consequences of such violation within a marriage different from violation outside the marriage.

Parliament has already provided the measure to protect the consent of married women within marriage. These measures includes laws penalising cruelty to married woman. It added in protection of women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 is another law that can help married woman.

History Of Marital Rape:
Marital rape is an evil act which existed in our society from a very long period of time. In ancient time people do not ever considered marital rape as rape as they think after marriage a woman becomes property of her husband and he act as dominant over his wife. It is seen as husband has a right to do anything with her wife without her consent. The consent of wife did not matter at all. They consider after marriage the consent of wife automatically given to her husband for all sexual relations. We generally saw that the victim in case of marital rape are women and it is bigger threat to gender justice.

In ancient times women do are not allowed to raise their voice and behind every close door there is dark reality of marital rape. At that time it considered that their husband doing is always right he cannot do anything wrong because they treat their husband as a 'Parmeshwar' which means god. For long period of time, there were no laws for marital rape and during colonial era law framed known as Indian penal code, 1860 did not explicitly criminalized marital rape and even in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita no provisions mentioned regarding this.[vii]

From past to present if marital rape happens, it is because society has accepted it. It is not a product of individual thought but entrenched in the very structure of society rooted in devil and selfish mindset of people. The dominant social groups often treated this inequality as "natural and logical", viewing them as inherent an unchangeable part of society.

Comparison of marital rape in India with other countries
India is amongst 36 countries that still have not criminalized marital rape but there are country also who had criminalized the marital rape. If we talk about England under the law of UK, they consider marital rape is also a kind of domestic violence and if any person found guilty then there is imprisonment up to 15 years. In case of USA, they consider marital rape fulfil all the criteria of rape and recognized it is as a rape. In Poland also marital rape is treated as crime. The law in Poland favors humanity and considering women is also a human being and marriage is not only purpose of fulfilling sexual desire of husband and also said that women have the right to say no[viii].

Stigma Surrounding Marital Rape

The main stigma surrounding marital rape is deeply rooted in cultural and societal norms that have narrowed the concept of the sexual consent within marriage. From the ancient time, marriage has been seen as granting a spouse having full authority over his spouse's body. Society believes that disagreements over sex in marriage are normal and it is not any type of abuse and also that it is a 'private matter' which generally contributes to societal silence. In marriage, discussions about sexual relations are considered as a taboo which results to no conversations regarding consent violations.

The victims of marital rapes are the one who are often blamed for the violence and are accused of provoking their spouse and people tries to prioritize their family reputation instead solving the victim's trauma. Due to stigma, victim generally faces shame, guilt and also blamed for failing in their obligations.

Culture Attitude Towards Marital Rape

In our culture, marriage is considered as a sacrament and it is seen as spiritual bond and with this mindset, people considered it is wife's duty to fulfil the desire of husband. They are bounded to do this kind of thing including sexual intercourse without questioning about. The cultural norms were drawn from our ancient Vedas known as Manusmriti which promotes the patriarchal thoughts and ideas and its gives men extraordinary powers.

This text emphasize the position of women as subordinate to men and it reduces the autonomy of women and it reinforce the idea that the body of wife belongs to her husband. Marital rape is brutal act which exist in our society from ancient to modern. It is rarely opposed by our society as our society is considered as patriarchal society the value of woman is always less than men. We often seen large number of women doing household chores and bound to follow whatever there husband say to them.

Women have been always suffered a lot and she have been tortured over a long period of time. This patriarchal society made women inferior and weak because from a childhood they taught women to respect in laws and save there marriage in every possible way. If anything going wrong our society balmes women. They cannot raise voice for the exploitation done by her husband. There is an old quote saying that "aurat admi ke pairo ki juttti hai" how man treat women it does not matter women blindly follows all the rule and regulation made by her husband.

Challenges In Marital Rape

Lack of awareness among people about marital rape because a large part of society did not know about what is marital rape? they think after marriage nothing happens like rape and they also think that sexual intercourse without consent is not a rape. Sexual intercourse after marriage is a right of husband over his wife. This happens because people are not aware.

Lack of support – Society generally do not support in this matter if any woman raise voice for this they are suppressed by society by her family and they start blaming women in this matter as it mention in report 90% of survivors do not report case due to fear of society and stigma.

Inadequate legal framework- As we know our legal system did not recognize marital rape as crime because it mention that rape happens outside or inside marriage both differs. They made another provision regarding this.[ix]

The Way Forward
Marital rape still a pressing issue that weakens the principle of consent and dignity. To ensure justice ,country needs certain reforms in the legal system by introducing certain specific legal provisions for marital rape with a very clear definition of consent. A accessible support system needs to be established including counselling and legal aid which can help victims to do not hesitate in reporting the crime due to the fear of society.

Various NGOs, government institutions and local communities or groups can collaborate and address the legal loopholes. Special courts can be established to handle the cases of marital rape which deals the case with sensitivity and can reduce the delays in trials. We can educate public about criminality of this heinous act and create awareness about the importance of the consent in marriage. India can also take lessons from the countries that have criminalized marital rape and can adopt best practices to resolve this issue.

Conclusion
Marital rape in India is very complex issue. It is a grave concern that demands serious attention and action. For resolving this issue, we should not be totally dependent on parliament and judiciary we should also need to change the mindset of the people as it is very sensitive issue which cannot be ignored. Marital rape is a crime that demands recognition and justice. The thought of society is that marital rape is a trivial issue but it needs to be dismantled through education and community engagement. As we see the rate of marital rape increasing day by day, so to resolve this issue we have to speed up our legal system.

Now it's time to change the typical stereotype thinking of the society that after a marriage the wife become the property of her husband and whatever he do with her wife, she cannot raise her voice against him as it is also believed that it is a private matter of husband and wife which leads to societal silence . India also must take actions to amend its legal framework with alignment of international human rights standards. By recognizing and affirming women's right to safety within marriage and India can move towards more equitable society, where all individuals can live free from violence and fear.

End Notes:

1. The Times of India
2. UN DATA www.thehindubusinessline.com
3. Constitution of India: Article 14, 21
4. Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023: Section 63
5. Domestic Violence Act 2005
6. https://www.ndtv.com
7. https://www.jstor.org
8. https://www.ijlra.com
9. www.scobserver.in