Marital Rape – Is it Rape?

Women and men are the same human being with some different body structures and biological organs. This biological difference creates a great disparity towards women because of our patriarchal mindset and societal pressure. This disparity compelled women to become the vulnerable group in the society withholding physical and mental torture, domestic violence and victim of the most heinous crime rape. Our Indian Penal Code, 1860 penalize act against women through different sections. Almost every crime against women are penalized there in Indian Penal Code, 1860 except one of the brutal crime i.e., Marital rape which has no existence in our Criminal law system. Though in actuality it is widely pervasive in our Indian Society. The crime being not criminalized in our Indian legal system has become an opportunity for the offender. In our Indian society being married to man totally means the girl became woman who is an object or property for the man or to her husband. This article gives an overview of status of marital rape in our Indian society.