The centre has made up it's mind and unambiguously laid down it's cards in this regard, "there will be no rethink for now at least on the issue of excluding the recommendations made by the Verma committee on the contentious issue of marital rape out of the proposed list of sexual offences."...........
We believe that the inclusion of the clauses pertaining to this rather combustible and controversial issue would only end up causing irrepairable damage of the institution of marriage in the Indian context, home secretary R.K. Singh told a parliamentary standing committee yesterday.........
The government is however minutely examining the clauses and recommendations made by the very same committee on sexual abuse within live-in relationships, especially in those cases wherein one partner accuses the other of having committed rape under the false pretext of marriage, he went on to inform the standing committee.........
Double standards, one might well be inclined to say considering the fact that global human rights watchdog Amnesty International had put out a highly disparaging report which concluded that 81% of all married Indian men rape their lawfully wedded wives every night quite some time back........
However, our government which is supposed to be the custodian of the rights of every Indian citizen and has a sworn duty to protect the very same at all costs has preferred to bury it's head in the sand and touted the age old argument about a marriage being sacrosanct in the Indian context and the same according a degree of legitimacy to the sexual relations established within the parameters of the same........
Does the government mean to say that husbands who beat up their wives and force themselves on them unfailingly all the time have a god given right to do so just because they have accorded a legal status by legally marrying them and thereby having obtained a licence to do what they please as the marriage certificate accords them the shelter of a steadfast institution........
A female colleague of mine hit the nail right on the head when she succinctly remarked, "chahte hue ya naa chate huey bhi patni dharm nibhana padt hain, nahin to ghar main kalesh machta hain aur pati aur saas ke taane sunne padte hain", this is the state of affairs in urban India, has the government bothered to carry out a detailed study on the occurrence of this crime within rural households and bothered to ascertain how hapless women continue to be sexually assaulted under the guise of being lawfully wedded........
Women can always take recourse to the domestic violence act and even seek a divorce from their tormentors quite a few people might well go on to say; but the fact of the matter is that, most police forces do not take domestic violence complaints seriously and let the assailant off with either a severe reprimand or warning as the case may be, most if not all police forces have heard of a restraining order and obtaining the same from the courts is indeed a long drawn out and cumbersome process........
As for divorce cases, the less said the better, the woman is always at the receiving end in a significant majority of all such cases and faces the ignominy of either being socially ostracised/boycotted or then looked upon as available and ready meat for the legions of sexual predators who are always on the lookout for their next victim.......
The very same Amnesty International had also arrived at the conclusion that 69% of all Indian marriages are little more than a facade, with one or both partners continuing with the loveless marriage either on account of their children or then to avoid the stigma attached to/with the tag of being a divorcee........
Every cloud does have a silver lining and things are slowly but surely changing within the Indian milieu and context at long last, divorce is no longer looked at as a crime in quiet a few social circles and domestic crimes against women are being reported with far greater frequency and the hackneyed police force has even begun taking due cognisance of the same, society has shown a remarkable penchant to embrace change and move on in tune with the existing trends, but the political establishment needs to take a long hard look at itself; a sixteenth century mindset within a twenty first century environment is after all as good as a black and white silent movie in an era of synchronised sound and what not............
We believe that the inclusion of the clauses pertaining to this rather combustible and controversial issue would only end up causing irrepairable damage of the institution of marriage in the Indian context, home secretary R.K. Singh told a parliamentary standing committee yesterday.........
The government is however minutely examining the clauses and recommendations made by the very same committee on sexual abuse within live-in relationships, especially in those cases wherein one partner accuses the other of having committed rape under the false pretext of marriage, he went on to inform the standing committee.........
Double standards, one might well be inclined to say considering the fact that global human rights watchdog Amnesty International had put out a highly disparaging report which concluded that 81% of all married Indian men rape their lawfully wedded wives every night quite some time back........
However, our government which is supposed to be the custodian of the rights of every Indian citizen and has a sworn duty to protect the very same at all costs has preferred to bury it's head in the sand and touted the age old argument about a marriage being sacrosanct in the Indian context and the same according a degree of legitimacy to the sexual relations established within the parameters of the same........
Does the government mean to say that husbands who beat up their wives and force themselves on them unfailingly all the time have a god given right to do so just because they have accorded a legal status by legally marrying them and thereby having obtained a licence to do what they please as the marriage certificate accords them the shelter of a steadfast institution........
A female colleague of mine hit the nail right on the head when she succinctly remarked, "chahte hue ya naa chate huey bhi patni dharm nibhana padt hain, nahin to ghar main kalesh machta hain aur pati aur saas ke taane sunne padte hain", this is the state of affairs in urban India, has the government bothered to carry out a detailed study on the occurrence of this crime within rural households and bothered to ascertain how hapless women continue to be sexually assaulted under the guise of being lawfully wedded........
Women can always take recourse to the domestic violence act and even seek a divorce from their tormentors quite a few people might well go on to say; but the fact of the matter is that, most police forces do not take domestic violence complaints seriously and let the assailant off with either a severe reprimand or warning as the case may be, most if not all police forces have heard of a restraining order and obtaining the same from the courts is indeed a long drawn out and cumbersome process........
As for divorce cases, the less said the better, the woman is always at the receiving end in a significant majority of all such cases and faces the ignominy of either being socially ostracised/boycotted or then looked upon as available and ready meat for the legions of sexual predators who are always on the lookout for their next victim.......
The very same Amnesty International had also arrived at the conclusion that 69% of all Indian marriages are little more than a facade, with one or both partners continuing with the loveless marriage either on account of their children or then to avoid the stigma attached to/with the tag of being a divorcee........
Every cloud does have a silver lining and things are slowly but surely changing within the Indian milieu and context at long last, divorce is no longer looked at as a crime in quiet a few social circles and domestic crimes against women are being reported with far greater frequency and the hackneyed police force has even begun taking due cognisance of the same, society has shown a remarkable penchant to embrace change and move on in tune with the existing trends, but the political establishment needs to take a long hard look at itself; a sixteenth century mindset within a twenty first century environment is after all as good as a black and white silent movie in an era of synchronised sound and what not............
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