What is Marital Rape

Gender-based violence (GBV) has grown into a pandemic. It has spread its tentacles so far and wide that no country or community in the 21st century is immune from it. There are, of course, laws to prevent GBV and punish the perpetrators of GBV. But, the laws, in general, pathetically fail to yield the desired result and fail to play the role of an effective deterrent as lawmakers themselves, most often, become lawbreakers. It is well known that patriarchy has a vested interest in gender inequality, which is the root cause of GBV. The dominant gender, male, uses violence against all other genders, including female and third gender, as a lethal weapon to prove their muscle-power, pseudo-superiority, and enjoy what is not morally and ethically and legally right. GBV is undoubtedly a human right violation. However, in the land of nonviolence, India, marital rape, among others, is still legal. Things are slowly changing, and it gives hope.