Essay on Women and Domestic Violence in India !
Women constitute nearly one-half of the Indian population, but they are placed at various disadvantageous positions due to gender discrimination and bias. In the male dominated society, women have been victims of violence and exploitation. India being a tradition bound society; women have been socially, economically, physically, psychologically and sexually exploited for centuries.
The concepts like sex-equality, women’s empowerment etc. have come out of the constitutional provisions after the Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950. But truly speaking equality of status guaranteed by the Constitution is only a myth to millions of women who are subjected to various kinds of violence within their domestic home.
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The domestic violence manifests as verbal, physical or psychological abuse of women. The victim’s inability to access to law makes legal remedies ineffective and the inability of the law to reach the victim is even more tragic.
Marital rape is a common form of domestic violence. A government organisation for women’s right dealt with a case wherein a middle aged woman called up the Human Rights Commission and accused her husband of forcing sexual contact with her. She wanted to avoid any such contact as her husband apparently visited sex workers quite often and she suspected him of having contacted venereal and related diseases.
There is proposal before Law Commission of India for inclusion of marital rape in the law but many believe that the provisions may be misused and that the Indian society is not prepared for such a provision as yet. However, there is no doubt that the problem of marital rape is a grey area of law and evidence.
Even in England rape within marriage was considered an impossibility till recent years. But it was in R. v. R, that the House of Lords had altered this position and observed that the position of women had changed so radically that rape within marriage has now become possible if the wife has not consented the intercourse by the husband. Therefore, husbands have now to be sure that their wives are consenting to intercourse, not merely submitting to it out of fear or some compelling reason.