India: Drawing A Line

INDIA

Drawing a Line

India’s Supreme Court ruled that a husband who has sex with his child bride is committing rape, setting up a possible showdown with the conservative Hindu nationalist government over marital rape, which it has refused to outlaw.

The court’s ruling Wednesday classified sex between a husband and wife between the ages of 15 and 18 as rape, regardless of whether or not the act is consensual. It’s likely a decision that will affect millions of child brides, Reuters reported. Previously, the law had made an exception for married girls between those ages, even though the legal age of consent in India is 18.

Amid a wholesale reform of laws to fight violence against women, the government has refused to make marital rape illegal, saying it would destabilize marriages and lead to false accusations for the purpose of gaining leverage in divorce cases and other disputes. The court said it did not address this issue because it did not form the subject matter of the case at hand.

Notably, child marriage is itself illegal in India, but it remains common among some communities. The 2011 census showed that some 5 million girls were married before turning 18.