Marital Rape

Author(s): Supriya Singh

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 50, No. 25 (JUNE 20, 2015), p. 5
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24481757
Accessed: 13-05-2023 12:47 +00:00

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have been appropriated to marginalise
and alienate the Other; as if Buddhist,
Gregorian, Sufi chants are not as profound
as Om, or that Namaaz is not physically
and mentally elevating, or that there is
no breath control when people lift and
haul heavy loads for a living, or women
engaged in childbearing or rearing. The
antiquity of yoga appears to be its unique
claim to present international fame. Yet
antiquity is not limited to a particular
tradition of a particular region on a par
ticular side of the Hindukush mountains.
The "International Days" of the un have
hitherto been admirably able to remain
multicultural and inclusive in character,
often highlighting issues and concerns of
the marginalised and oppressed. With this
resolution, it has lost some ofthat sheen.
Janaki Rajan
NEW DELHI
The Tyranny of 'Hint' Feelings
Kancha Ilaiah,
Centre the director
for Social Exclusionof
andthe
Inclusive Policy in the Maulana Azad
University in Hyderabad, has been igniting
minds by raising important questions on
culture, caste and spirituality for years.
The police have now filed a case against
him for an article he wrote in the Andhra
Jyothi, on a complaint filed by the Vishva
Hindu Parishad (vhp). Ilaiah asks whether
god is a democrat or not in the article
and the vhp has claimed that this has
hurt religious sentiments. Even if a com
plaint was filed, is it enough of a reason
to register a case against him under
Section 153A and Section 295A, which
empower the authorities to act against
people who commit deliberate and mali
cious acts aimed at outraging religious
sentiments and spreading enmity bet
ween groups?
In a democracy people have every right
to air their opinions so that other people
can reflect on them. Ilaiah has always been
committed to the empowerment of the
marginalised and questioned the en
slavement of the discriminated commu
nities. When one raises questions about
caste and culture, gods and goddesses,
food habits and rituals, a section of peo
ple who have benefited from the system
will feel "hurt." Is feeling hurt enough of
Economie & Political weekly EB3S9 june 20, 2015 vol l no 25
This content downloaded from 71.70.70.0 on Sat, 13 May 2023 12:47:47 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
a reason to file a case against the acade
mician? Those who are hurt by his article
could have countered him with their
argument. That would have led to a public
discourse and a process of education.
Colleges and universities exist to inter
rogate, to explore and to raise relevant
questions. It is totally wrong to book a
professor on the allegations of a fringe
group that is frightened of discussions,
debates and dissent which are the essence
of democracy.
The central thesis of the article is that
a society's social and political structures
are profoundly influenced by its concep
tion of god and by its religious beliefs.
His question to readers is "If the God one
believes in does not have democratic
values, where will this person get those
democratic values from?" To the pre
servers of tradition any question on reli
gion can hurt their sentiments. Ambedkar,
Phule, Periyar and several others have
raised questions that Ilaiah has raised.
They were not charged or arrested.
A recent phenomenon that one is wit
nessing increasingly is that the Indian
State while protecting communal interests
has begun attacking critical inquiry and
free speech. Police cases under Sections
153A and 295A are routinely filed against
individuals, authors, teachers, artists and
theatre personalities for supposedly hurt
ing the religious sentiments of different
groups while those who make rabidly
communal hateful speeches are let off.
This is a sign of the aggressive intent of
Hindutva forces to attack any discourse
which publicly questions their casteist
understanding of Indian society. India
needs a national network to defeat such
anti-democratic and feudal forces.
Ambrose Pinto
St Aloysius Degree College
BENGALURU
Web Exclusives
The following articles have been published in the past week in the Web Exclusives section of the EPW website.
They have not been published in the print edition.
(1) Glimpses from the Past: Scheduled Caste and Tribe Students in Higher Education—A Study of an IIT
—Viney Kirpai, Nalini Swamidasan, Amitabha Gupta and Raj KGupta
(2) Reports from the States: A Perilous Pilgrimage—The Case of Sabarimala—K Rajasekharan Nayar,
KMohandas and MuhammedShaffi
(3) Reports from the States: Mopa Airport Woes—Debating the Proposed Airport in North Goa
—Kenneth Bo Nielsen
Articles posted before 13 June 2015 remain available in the Web Exclusives section.
? LETTERS
Marital Rape
The ("Section
article written by Flavia
498A, Marital Agnes
Rape and
Adverse Propaganda," epw, 6 June
2015 ) opens a fresh debate raising some
relevant questions regarding the short
comings of our legal system in handling
gender assaults like marital rape. The
article rightly highlights how in our
male-dominant society, ridden with
orthodox patriarchal values, women's
sexual oppression is reinforced by
rationalising the chastity of marriage.
Just being someone's husband cannot
provide legitimisation or rationality for
sexual abuse as well as the brutal use
of physical power. Marriage cannot be
considered as an institution where a
woman has to sacrifice herself entirely,
physically, mentally and socially, to
the whims of her husband. A woman's
consent to have sex or not should
be perceived as her vital right from
which she cannot be deprived even
after marriage.
Rape cannot be considered a sexual
intercourse between two partners, rath
er it is just an act as the subject is not
involved in it, there is no partnership. It
can only be considered as an act of ag
gression whether within or outside mar
riage. Marital rape is also an act of ag
gression and oppression. It is a crime
directed against a gender, it is both an
assault on a woman's body as well as
honour. Forcing a woman to have sex af
ter her marriage is brutalising her just
for being a woman, therefore it should
be considered a heinous crime. Relaxing
or opposing the provisions of Section
498A would be legitimising deep-rooted
crimes against women.
Supriya Singh
University of Lucknow