Our law fails to address marital rape cases
Marital rape is not criminalized in Bangladeshi law. The section 375 has exempted marital rape in the scenarios which is considered as rape. There are certain drawbacks the definition of rape; for example, it states, ‘“sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under thirteen years of age, is not rape.” This means that the wives who are above thirteen years old and raped by their husbands will not be able to take any legal action.
Even in Section 375(2) has defined statutory rape as “with or without her consent, when she is under fourteen years of age’ is considered to be rape’’. But the definition of rape is inconsistent with age and consent of the person.
The punishment for marital rape is also very insignificant. The general punishment for rapists mentioned in Section 376 is life imprisonment or a prison sentence up to ten years, and a fine “unless the woman raped is his own wife and is under twelve years of age in which case he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.” This clearly shows that there is very little room for justice in marital rape cases.
This exemption of marital rape is enacted by the British rulers in19th century whcih reflects their mindset. The Englishmen have assumed that upon marriage a wife becomes husband’s property and is able to have intercourse whenever he demands.
Though the Bangladeshi newer lawmakers had the chance to change it, the Prevention of Oppression against Women and Children Act 2000 still refers back to section 375 of the Penal Code. They also think that allowing prosecution of the husbands will disrupt the reconciliation of the troubled marriage.
Our reluctance to address marital rape reflects the mediaeval patriarchal mindset where wife is treated as husband’s property
It is urgent to realize that marital rape is also traumatic and stressful like other rape cases. Dr David Finkelhor has highlighted marital rape in his testimony: “When you are raped by a stranger you have to live with a frightening memory. When you are raped by your husband, you have to live with your rapist.”
Source: Daily Star