Among 195 Countries in the world, only 36 countries haven't Criminalized Marital Rape. In India, where grooms still take Dowry for marriage, where women live alone with the husband's family without financial independence, where women leave jobs after marriage in order to take care of family, getting raped by own husband is the last straw. Husband's parents and other family members never support the wife ( the only outsider in the house). 

Criminalizing Marital Rape is necessary because women in my country are abused verbally, sexually, physically in her husband's family home. Even the women who stay resilient and do not leave job after marriage, they also face catcalls, inappropriate behaviour in the streets and workplace. 

Women need a safe place. Her marital home is supposed to be that safe place. A woman deserves to say no to sex when she doesn't feel well or she doesn't want to. A woman cannot feel safe if her husband forces himself on her in days when she is sick or in her monthly bleed. 

In India, 1 in every 3 women are victims of some kind of sexual abuse by people around her. In marriage, a husband asking for consent before having sexual intercourse is not an illogical demand.

We, as a country cannot ask for punishment for the rapists if we let the rapists in the family roam free. 

I ask the Indian government to take progressive step and criminalize an act which is already a crime. Rape is a crime. Just because it's happening in a marriage it doesn't become less of a crime. 

No means no. Even in marriage. 

#CriminalizeMaritalRape