Beyond Domestic Violence: Can Marital Rape be Criminalized in India?

Marital rape is a critical issue in India that deserves urgent attention. From the ancient Anglo legal doctrine of coverture to an independent feminist culture, our world is full of perceptions, but how much of these have come to practice? Marriage is a religious sacrament that has come to define the moral, social, and economic obligations of the two individuals bound by each other in such matrimony. Our legal structure has molded the rights and obligations of the individuals involved in such an institution, while also maintaining the religious sanctity it carries. Despite the global recognition of marital rape, India remains among the 34 countries that have explicitly decriminalized this evil, whereas 77 countries have already criminalized marital rape. This paper aims to delve into India’s incongruence which persists, even in the new Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). While the Domestic Violence Act offers a crucial safety spectrum for victims of marital abuse, it cannot be equated with the violation of a woman's body and dignity through rape with a civil offense. Consent is essential for physical autonomy, which is an integral part of the right to make your own choices about your body. This includes decisions about medical treatment or sexual activity, among other things. At the end of the day, the individuals involved in the holy sanctity of marriage are two separate sovereign individuals who have decided to spend their lives together, thus criminalizing marital rape will be a step towards acknowledging the violation of a woman’s bodily autonomy and dignity she carries within the marriage. India is indeed a vast religious diversity, with varying meanings attached to the institution of ‘marriage’, however, such definitions cannot override the basic fundamental essence of equality and dignity which every citizen has an intrinsic right to. Thus, criminalization is a crucial step towards recognizing marital rape as the violation it is.