Gone girl: 

Gone girl: 

SC verdict on child marriage makes a break with cultural norms. Now, back it with policy to restore childhoods.

Context:

• The recent Supreme Court verdict provides short term relief to the female victims of early marriage.

What is the verdict?

• The verdict says that a man who has sex with a wife less than 18 years can be charged of rape.

Section 375 vs the Constitution

• Exception 2 to Section 375 (which defines rape) of the IPC (as amended by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013), as violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution

Article 14 in the Constitution of India

Equality before law

• The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth

Article 15 in the Constitution of India

• Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
• The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them
• No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition

Article 21 in the Constitution of India

• “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.”
• Article 21 can only be claimed when a person is deprived of his “life” or “personal liberty” by the “State” as defined in Article 12.

Article 21 secures two rights:

• Right to life
  Right to personal liberty

Child Marriage: in the Indian context:

• Today, the decline in child marriage is hardly impressive.
• For, census data shows the continued prevalence of child marriage.
• For example, in states as different as Bengal and Rajasthan, marriage of girls as young as 14 is far from rare.

The conflict:

• The Supreme Court’s verdict has achieved two potential breaks in the steady flow of cultural norms.
• Firstly, by stating that marital sex with a child bride will constitute rape, the court has dissociated matrimony from reproduction.
• Secondly, the verdict seeks to establish an extra benefit for girls in the general framework of laws that define child rights.

Reason for child marriage in India:

• Poverty and marriage expenses such as dowry may lead a family to marry off their daughter at a young age to reduce these costs.
• Poor educational opportunities for girls, especially in rural areas increase the vulnerability of a girl child to be married off early.
• One of the leading causes of early marriage is the over-emphasized fertility rate.
• Societies such as India’s, specific roles are assigned to women traditionally and such societies tend to facilitate these through practices like early marriage which reinforce prescribed gender roles.

What is marital rape?

• Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one’s spouse without the consent of the spouse.
• It is a form of domestic violence and sexual abuse..
• There are several questions that remain unanswered by those demanding a new law to deal specifically with marital rape.
• As to what constitutes marital rape and what would constitute marital non-rape needs to be defined precisely before a view on its criminalization is taken.

What is the way ahead?

• The Indian society needs to upgrade itself with more concrete educational schemes for women in particular.
• The society also needs to change its patriarchal outlook for women and their marraige parameters.
• The issue of child marriage by large still remains open as the court refrained from dealing with the issue of marital rape of a woman aged above 18.
• The SC verdict on marital rape focused solitarily on married women below the age of 18.Thus a large part of marital rape law is still open.
• The government authorities need to ensure that child marriage is abolished at all cost.