Rape

The marital rape exception must be removed as it is no longer legally tenable in light of the Supreme Court decisions in various cases. Contrary to arguments that the central government has advanced repeatedly, these decisions hold that marriage does not mean there is irrevocable consent for sexual intercourse, and that a regressive practice cannot be used to ensure the stability of marriage.

Despite the large number of positive court judgements in favour of Muslim women in India, the media prefers to endorse the view that once the husband pronounces talaq, the wife is stripped of all her rights. Similarly, articles by experts, while focusing on the need to declare instantaneous triple talaq invalid, pay little attention to the rights laboriously secured from the trial courts, the high courts and even the Supreme Court by many Muslim women.

The state is in a renewed drive to "clean" Chhattisgarh of Naxalites. The large-scale combing operations have meant pillaging and looting of settlements, and mass sexual violence perpetrated on inhabitants of Peddagalur, Kunna and Nendra, among others, over the last six months. Victims and human rights groups are fighting an uphill battle to ensure that security forces and vigilante groups be held accountable for their crimes, and another reign of terror with impunity, like Salwa Judum, be stopped in its tracks.