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FILE PHOTO: Members of media speak in front of cameras outside the premises of the Supreme Court in New Delhi, India October 13, 2022. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo
Indian government opposes criminalizing marital rape as “excessively harsh”
India’s Supreme Court is hearing petitions this month and will soon rule on whether to criminalize marital rape, but the government opposes the idea, stating it would be “excessively harsh.” The Interior Ministry argues that while a man should face “penal consequences” for raping his wife, criminalizing the act “may lead to serious disturbances in the institution of marriage.”
The petitions seek to overturn Section 375 of India’s Penal Codewhich lists “exemptions” for sex to be considered rape, including “by a man with his own wife” if she is not a minor. A lower Delhi High Court delivered a split verdict on the issue in 2022, but when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government overhauled the country’s penal code in July, the exemption stayed on the books. Modi’s party, the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party, has longopposed changes for reasons of “illiteracy, poverty, social customs and values.”
But activists argue the 164-year-old law must be amended to combat systemic gender inequality. Sexual violence against women is rampant in India, andmedical workers are still striking over the August rape and murder of a trainee female doctor in Kolkata, for which a man was formally charged last Monday.
Around the world, more than 100 countries have outlawed marital rape. We’re watching whether public outcry – and a high court verdict - will force Modi’s government to do the same.
NEW DELHI, INDIA - JUNE 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah during celebration at BJP HQ as the party leads in the Lok Sabha elections amid the counting of votes, on June 4, 2024 in New Delhi, India.
India’s Narendra Modi – chastened?
Indian PM Narendra Modi still got more votes than any democratically elected leader in history (winning an election in a billion-strong country will do that). But his Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a humbling setback, losing nearly 60 seats and failing to secure an outright majority for the first time since coming to power in 2014. At last count, the Party of Modi had 240 seats out of 543.
Why did support slip for a popular leader credited with making India the world’s fastest-growing major economy and a leading voice of the Global South? Perhaps, after a decade in power, there was Modi fatigue. Maybe Modi’s polarizing Hindu-nationalist rhetoric didn’t play as well as he’d hoped. And give credit to the opposition alliance – led by the long-struggling Indian National Congress – which exceeded expectations (and polls) by capitalizing on widespread frustrations about inflation and unemployment.
What next? The BJP is still the legislature’s largest party, but it will need smaller and regional parties to form a government. That may mean slower progress on key but difficult reforms – to land ownership, labor laws, and tariffs – that are part of Modi’s dream of making India a global manufacturing powerhouse.
The biggest questions: Can Modi, a strongman-curious leader used to having his way, learn to be a team player? Can a once-powerful Congress party, which has been in the wilderness for a decade, turn this moment into a new lease on life?Indian Muslims demand the arrest of BJP member Nupur Sharma for her comments on Prophet Mohammed in Mumbai.
Hard Numbers: India’s BJP irks Muslims, Bolsonaro’s bling, Tunisian judges on strike, TikToking boomers in Japan
2: India's ruling BJP party has suspended two officials for making controversial comments about the Prophet Mohammed that have sparked outrage across the Islamic world. PM Narendra Modi is in a tough spot: only a formal apology will placate Gulf countries that India does a lot of business with, but it might make Modi look weak in the eyes of his Hindu nationalist base.
76: Want a medal in Brazil? Join the cabinet. Since taking office in early 2019, President Jair Bolsonaro has distributed 76 of the country's three most prestigious medals to his ministers, more than any of his elected predecessors did during two terms. One of the latest recipients outside government is billionaire Elon Musk, the first-ever foreign civilian to be distinguished with Brazil's Order of Defense Merit.
57: Tunisian judges will go on strike this week, days after President Kais Saied fired 57 of their colleagues in a brazen move to "purify" the judiciary. Saied assumed emergency powers almost a year ago to fix the country's dysfunctional democracy, but critics say he’s become a dictator.
16 million: A group of middle-aged Japanese men are crushing it on TikTok — 16 million views and counting — with their awkward dance numbers to encourage people to visit their town, which like many parts of rural Japan suffers from population decline. They call themselves ojiqun (Gen-Z slang for old heartthrobs) and famously dress up in shirts, ties, and ... brightly colored belly warmers.This comes to you from the Signal newsletter team of GZERO Media. Subscribe for your free daily Signal today.