Tell us about yourself ?
I, Ridhima Sharma, currently pursuing the B.A.L.L.B 5-year integrated course under the guidance of Guru Nanak Dev University. Being a law aspirant, my prime focus of learning is towards the female emancipation as well as child protection; and in the lieu of same, I want to be an efficacious and proficient lawyer in these aforementioned respective fields. Through the hard endeavours, I want to redress the sufferings of the masses by reforming the some of the prominent outdated legal provisions and regarding this, I’ll leave no stone unturned to cut the mustard.
How will you justify that marriage is not a sanction to have sex in a traditional country like India?
Under this rich Indian culture, a marriage is considered to be the implied consent for sexual intercourse and this is the biggest ridicule which is needed to be expunged from the minds of old-fashioned masses. As, marriage is the ceremony of two souls entitling them equal rights; both have a say in the protection of their rights and thus, wife has the dominance over her freedom including both physical as well as cognitive. Therefore, she ought not to be considered as an object of husband’s forced will.
What could be the reasons for not having criminalized marital rape in India even today?
As aforementioned, India is a traditional outset of the cultures, beliefs and values. The old-fashioned notions of the people is the most staggering reason behind its decriminalisation. Apart from this, our legalists ignorance towards this overlooked sphere of the legal structure, despite of the incessant demands of its criminalisation, is the another reason of its legalisation.
What kind of psychological trauma do women undergo after marital rape?
Rape is not the crime against the women’s physical will but also against her mental force. She has to keep her sufferings limited to herself and the lack of reporting of crime to others lead to mental pressure whose worst consequence is suicidal death. Apart from this, she is not allowed to disclose her husband’s callousness to anyone which resulted in plethora of the diseases.
What amendments according to you, should be made in our rape laws in order to protect the victims?
Our sovereign Indian legal structure has imposed the strict penalties for the rape but still there is need to enforce more restrictive punishments against the crime and moreover, the marital rape should be given space in the columns of the section -375 of Indian Penal Code,1860 by removing the exception of this section. Moreover, the death penalty should also be given according to the nature of the grievousness of the crime.
La Senatus Scriptors 