Sadia Rahman:
Indian supreme court has identified having sex with a child bride as rape. A rule is established abolishing existing loophole in the system that allowed using marriage as an excuse. India is a country where women’s consent in sex is not something taken into consideration. Child brides for centuries have been the worst victim of this system. It is illegal there to force a girl under 18 to have sex. This is considered rape. But law worked differently in case of girls who are married and under 18. A loophole gave husbands gateway to the crime. But with the help of women and children rights activists, the law is changed. Now it is a crime to have sex with a girl under age even if she’s married.
Childhood is killed in many ways in India. In case of girls, childhood is at stake with marriage. The system forces them to get involved in premature sex with husband. Now the law has taken a beautiful turn. The new system offers child brides judicial help. The victim now can file a case within a year of the incident.
All the activists out there in India have applauded this new law. They all agreed on the fact that this is undoubtedly a bold and revolutionary step taken by the Supreme Court. One of the petitioners of this case and the founder of “The Independent Thought” Vikram Srivastava said, “This is a landmark judgment that corrects a historical wrong against girls”. Another activist from organization “Equality now” Diva Srinivasan spotted saying, “The judgment is a step forward in protecting girls from abuse and exploitation irrespective of their marital status.”
While there are activists applauding the new law some were worried too. Activists, critics, and social scientists seemed worried thinking about how this law is going to be carried out. Some were suspicious about whether it is really possible to apply or how far it is possible to make it a success. India is the biggest democratic country with 1.324 billion people. Some live in the remotest area where it is hard for organizations or Govt. to reach. There are tribes too. Child marriage is still very popular in every corner. Some activists think it will be hardest to reach people in western Rajasthan and make this law applicable there. India’s 2011 census report indicates child marriage has decreased compared to the last decade. Still, the rate is alarming. A Recent survey of “Girls not Bride” shows still 47% girls are forced to accept child marriage. 5 million are still victims of child marriages. After all those campaigns; India is still holding the 10th position in the world in child marriage and 70% of those brides are being abused, exploited and tortured.
A woman protests against underage marriages.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Now activists suggest looking into the roots of this problem. Research shows the greatest problem lies where parents consider girl child as an economic burden. In some cases, girl children are forced to marry their rapists. All these not only spoil their childhood but the entire life including mental and physical decay.
After all those years of exploitation, it is also a question how many girls will come forward and ask for judicial help. The only hope is the running force here. Under all the circumstances Indian Supreme court has shown the guts to take such step declaring sex with child bride as rape is really a revolutionary step. This is exemplary in the history of India and example to other countries out there.
Information Source:
2. BBC