Marital Rape Not Offence If Wife Is 18 Or Above, Says Allahabad HC; Acquits A Person Accused Of Committing An "Unnatural Offence" Against His Wife
New Age Islam News Bureau
10 December 2023
• Marital Rape Not Offence If Wife Is 18 Or Above,
Says Allahabad HC
• NOIDA Man
Who 'Bought' Bride For Rs 70,000 Gets 10 Yrs In Jail
• Afghan Women Struggle For Rights Under Increasing Taliban
Repression
• Iran's Narges Mohammadi To Go On Hunger Strike
Again. Who Is This Nobel Laureate?
• ‘Shariah For Women’s Share In Inheritance’
• Elderly Palestinian Woman 'Older Than Israel' Killed
By Israeli Sniper
• US: Texas Supreme Court Blocks Pregnant Woman With
Complications From Emergency Abortion
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/marital-rape-unnatural-offence-wife/d/131285
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Marital Rape Not Offence If Wife Is 18 Or Above, Says Allahabad
HC; Acquits A Person Accused Of Committing An "Unnatural Offence"
Against His Wife
Petitions seeking
criminalisation of marital rape are pending before Supreme Court. (Photo: Vani
Gupta/India Today)
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Dec 10, 2023
PRAYAGRAJ: Observing that marital rape cannot be
considered an offence if the wife is above 18 years of age, the Allahabad high
court acquitted a person accused of committing an "unnatural offence"
against his wife. "Protection of a person from marital rape continues in
cases where his wife is of 18 years of age or more than that," the court
said, adding that marital rape has not been criminalised in the country as yet.
In support of its stand, the court also clarified that
as per the judgment in the case of Independent Thought vs Union of India
(2017), the Supreme Court has held that any sexual intercourse between a man
and his wife, aged between 15 and 18 years, would amount to rape.
However, while acquitting the accused husband of the
charge under IPC Sec 377 (voluntary carnal intercourse against the order of
nature with man, woman or animal), the court affirmed his conviction and
sentence under IPC Sec 498A for harassment for dowry and cruelty and 323
(voluntarily causing hurt).
While partly allowing a revision petition filed by one
Sanjeev Gupta, the accused husband, Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra noted
that in the proposed BhartiyaNyaySanhita, which is likely to replace the Indian
Penal Code, there is no provision for anything like IPC 377.
While making these observations, the court also
endorsed the view taken by the Madhya Pradesh high court recently wherein it
was stated that after the 2013 amendment to the definition of IPC Section 375
(rape), there is no place for any unnatural offence (as per IPC Sec 377) to
occur between a husband and wife.
In its order, the MP HC had opined that when IPC Sec
375 (as amended by the 2013 Amendment Act) includes all possible parts of
penetration of the penis by a husband into his wife, and when consent for such
an act is immaterial, then there is no scope for the offence of IPC Sec 377 to
be attracted where a husband and wife are involved in sexual acts.
The FIR in this case was lodged in 2013 against one
Sanjeev Gupta by his wife under various IPC sections and also under the Dowry
Prohibition Act in Ghaziabad. However, after trial, the trial court in
Ghaziabad convicted him under the aforesaid sections. In the appeal, the
appellate court also upheld the findings of the trial court.
Hence, he filed the present revision petition before
the high court. Against this backdrop, the court noted that there was no
factual or legal error in the finding of guilt recorded by the appellate court
as regards charges under IPC Secs 323 and 498-A.
However, regarding the conviction under Sec 377, the
court opined that marital rape has not been criminalised in this country as
yet. However, the court did note that certain petitions are pending for
consideration before the Supreme Court seeking criminalising marital rape, but
till any decision comes on those petitions there is no criminal penalty for
marital rape when the wife is of or above 18 years of age.
Besides noting that the medical evidence in the case
was not supportive of allegations of commission of unnatural sex, the court, in
this judgment dated December 6, said that in the proposed Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita,
which is likely to replace IPC, no provision like IPC Sec 377 is included.
Source: Times Of India
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NOIDA Man Who 'Bought' Bride For Rs 70,000 Gets 10 Yrs
In Jail
Representative Photo
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Dec 10, 2023
NOIDA: A 55-year-old man who 'bought' himself a wife
in December 2021 was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Pocso court in a case
that underlined how a social problem has been feeding criminal networks of
traffickers.
The court also sentenced seven persons involved in
trafficking the girl, including her neighbour in a Dadri village, to four years
of rigorous imprisonment each.
The 18-year-old girl was abducted from outside her
home on December 26, 2021, and sold as a 'bride' for Rs 70,000 to Haryana
resident Jasveer Singh. ChavanpalBhati, the special public prosecutor, said
police began looking for the girl after her mother filed a kidnapping complaint
and rescued her from Singh's home at Mahara village in Sonipat after two weeks.
The case went to a Pocso court because the mother had
claimed the girl was 12 years old when she was abducted. During the trial, an
ossification test determined her age to be 18, and hence charges under sections
of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act were dropped.
Bhati said the girl's neighbourGudiya alias Nazreen was
the main agent in the trafficking racket. The girl had told Gudiya she liked a
man, Sunil, who is among the convicts in the case, but her mother was against
their relationship. Gudiya exploited this and promised to help the girl meet
Sunil.
On December 26, 2021, she took the girl to Ghaziabad
where two more later convicted - Puja and Kiran - joined them. The three women
then took the girl to Haryana and sold her to Jasveer. During the trial, the
girl told the court that on the day she was abducted, Gudiya had come visiting
with a bottle of water in her hand. She said the water was laced with sedatives
as she lost control soon after taking a gulp. She said Gudiya took her to Vijay
Nagar and the next day, Gudiya, Puja and Kiran took her to a house in Haryana,
which belonged to Bhupendra.
"Some more people joined us and married me off to
Jasveer despite my resistance. From there, Jasveer took me to his home in
Sonipat," the girl told the court. The girl claimed Jasveer locked her in
a room when he left the house. It was only after two weeks that she got a
chance to call her mother, after which she was finally rescued.
The girl claimed she was sexually assaulted by the
accused, but medical examination was not conclusive. Jasveer's counsel
KishanLalParashar submitted the girl was not a minor and that charges under the
Pocso Act should be withdrawn. He also claimed the girl could have raised an
alarm if there was any compulsion.
The prosecution cited Haryana's skewed sex ratio at
birth - as per the 2011 Census, 879 girls per 1000 boys - due to which such
incidents take place, arguing Jasveer, too, had 'bought' a bride. Haryana's sex
ratio at birth has since improved and is now 916. However, since the 2021
Census is overdue, comparative Census data is not available.
The court said the girl in her statements under CrPC
Sections 161 and 164 stated she was raped. "Jasveer bought her for Rs
70,000, which shows the intent of the accused. This proves beyond reasonable
doubt that she was trafficked and raped and the eight accused are
convicted," the court ruled.
Special judge (Pocso Act) Chandra Mohan Shrivastava
sentenced Jasveer to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a Rs 30,000
fine under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC. Gudiya, Puja, Kiran, Dharmraj,
Kabool, Rupkishore and Nawab were sentenced to four years of imprisonment and
fined Rs 5,000 each under Section 370 A(2) (trafficking a person) of IPC.
Two more persons - Naushad and Sunil - were also
convicted but they were not sentenced on Friday as they have been absconding.
The court has issued a non-bailable warrant against them. Bhupender, who was
also charged with trafficking, died during the trial.
Source: Times Of India
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Afghan Women Struggle For Rights Under Increasing Taliban
Repression
By ARSHAD MEHMOOD
DECEMBER 9, 2023
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August
2021, it has imposed severe restrictions on women and excluded them entirely
from active life.
Despite early promises to preserve women’s rights
within the context of Islamic law, the Taliban quickly released a slew of
decrees, limiting employment for women, banning travel without a male guardian,
imposing a strict dress code, and prohibiting schooling for girls beyond sixth
grade.
There have been numerous claims of violations of
women’s rights, and accounts of harassment and restrictions on women’s access
to work, education, and mobility have been reported.
In July, the Taliban ordered the closure of hair and
beauty salons, leaving thousands of women across the country without any
income.
AsadUllahZadran, a former official at Afghanistan’s
Law and Justice Ministry who fled the country after the Taliban took power,
told The Media Line: “Afghan working women have stood up against the
patriarchal policies of the Taliban across the country. The Taliban always
repressed, whipped, and imprisoned them for their nonviolent, civil protests.”
Zadran said, “One of the key reasons for the Taliban’s
difficulty gaining international recognition is their position on women’s
rights.”
The Taliban has been under persistent pressure from
the global community, particularly the United Nations, to restore women’s basic
rights and eliminate the prohibition on girls’ education before it can be
recognized.
Recently, the World Economic Forum carried out an
international study on gender inequalities. Afghanistan came last out of 146
countries.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch research on Afghanistan
since 2021 found that “the crime against humanity of persecution targeting
women and girls has been imposed through various written or announced decrees.
These decrees have placed severe restrictions on freedom of movement,
expression, and association; prohibitions on virtually all employment; bans on
secondary and higher education; and permitted arbitrary arrests and violations
of the right to liberty.”
Human Rights Watch also said, “Taliban authorities are
specifically responsible for gender persecution. This persecution has been
imposed through spoken and written decrees that have restricted women’s and
girls’ movement, expression, employment, and education.”
Gordon Brown, the UN’s special envoy for global
education, said in a recent statement, “For denying Afghan women and girls
education and employment, the Taliban leaders should be prosecuted by the
International Criminal Court. Afghan girls and Afghan women have been fighting
the most egregious, vicious, and indefensible violation of women’s rights and
girls’ rights in the world today.”
After the Taliban took power, hundreds of women’s
rights activists left the country and took refuge elsewhere, especially in
European countries.
Women’s rights activists who fled from Afghanistan to
Germany embarked on a 10-day hunger strike recently to draw global attention to
the Taliban’s treatment of women.
One of the leaders of the hunger strike was
TamanaZaryabParyani, 25, a former Afghan national bodybuilding champion who won
gold medals in two national contests. She moved to the German city of Cologne.
Her younger sister, ZarminaParyani, also took part in a hunger strike.
In an interview with BBC Persian before starting her
hunger strike, Paryani accused the Taliban of depriving women of basic rights
because of their gender.
“The international community is deafeningly silent in
the face of Afghanistan’s ongoing gender apartheid,” she said. “We had no
alternative but to go on a hunger strike to urge the world to acknowledge it and
act against it.”
Paryani consistently rallied for women’s rights and
took part in multiple protests outside Kabul University, demanding that women
be granted the right to education and employment.
In January 2022, Taliban officials raided Paryani’s
home and imprisoned her and three of her sisters. They were held in Taliban
custody for 26 days.
After being released, the sisters attempted to flee to
Pakistan. Taliban intelligence officers captured them again and imprisoned them
in Kabul for 10 days.
After they were again released, they managed to enter
Pakistan through the border town of Spin Boldak, and from there, they traveled
to Germany.
“The reports about the violations of human rights in
Afghanistan are malicious and full of discrimination and baseless propaganda,”
ZabiullahMujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesman, told The Media Line.
“Such allegations are crafted and disseminated by
individuals who fled Afghanistan for their own agenda, seeking to smear the
image of the Taliban-led government.”
Mujahid said the Taliban’s “interpretation of Islamic
laws forms the basis of their policies, including those related to women’s
rights.” He said that the Taliban is working “to establish a society that
aligns with Islamic values and there is no regression in women’s rights.”
“Every country in the world has its own system of law
and justice,” he said. “Any citizen of Afghanistan who commits a crime will be
punished according to Sharia [Islamic] law.”
Umar Karim, a research fellow at the University of
Birmingham, told The Media Line that the unique status of Afghanistan under the
Taliban makes it more difficult for other countries to exert pressure on
Afghanistan.
“The current Afghan government is not recognized by
any state, and neither is it considered a legitimate representative of the
Afghans,” he said. “It is difficult for the international community to compel
them on human rights issues. Furthermore, any specific sanctions applied on the
country in this regard are to affect not just the Taliban government but all
Afghans, who already are facing epic levels of poverty.”
Karim said that the Taliban sees women’s rights as a
Western issue used as a pretext to justify foreign military presence in the
country.
“It’s an alien concept for Afghan society,” he said.
“Furthermore, the gradual increase in the power of the Taliban supreme leader
has meant the implementation of more strict policies with regard to women’s
rights and education. More moderate voices in Afghan society have been unable
to effectively push back against the trend of reducing women’s rights.”
Niels Groeneveld, a human rights activist and expert
on Afghanistan based in Utrecht in The Netherlands, told The Media Line, “The
struggle of Afghan women is a complex and multi-layered force in the world of
activism, their struggle is a polyphonic catalyst for collective
transformation.”
“Tamana’s move to Germany highlighted a stark and
uncomfortable truth: the failure of the international community to recognize
and prioritize the plight of Afghan women on the scale it deserves,” he said.
“Her hunger strike raised questions not just about Afghan policy but about the
global hierarchy of empathy and concern.”
Prof. Momina Fatima, former deputy head of the
Department of Islamic Studies at Kabul University, criticized the West for
focusing on the Taliban’s treatment of women rather than the severe poverty and
hunger affecting the country.
“People are in dire need of humanitarian aid,
suffering from hunger and starvation, but the Western world is troubled by
Afghan women wearing hijabs and veils. The hijab is a part of Islamic Sharia,
not a verdict imposed by the Taliban. No doubt there are many flaws and
drawbacks in the Taliban policies, but the situation is not that much worse as
shown by the Western media outlets.”
Source: Voanews.Com
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-777385
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Iran's Narges Mohammadi To Go On Hunger Strike Again. Who
Is This Nobel Laureate?
By Aniruddha Dhar
Dec 10, 2023
Narges Mohammadi will go on a new hunger strike from
her Iranian prison cell as the Nobel Prize is awarded to her in Oslo on Sunday,
in her absence.
NargesMohammadi, winner of this year's Nobel Peace
Prize, will start a new hunger strike from her prison cell in Iran as the prize
is awarded to her in Oslo on Sunday, in her absence, news agency AFP reported,
citing her family.
Mohammadi's husband said at a press conference in Oslo
that she would undertake the hunger strike as a gesture of support for the
Baha'i religious minority. She is known for her advocacy against compulsory
hijab and the death penalty in Iran.
Born in Zanjan, Mohammadi went to the Imam Khomeini
International University and earned a Physics degree. While in college,
Mohammadi stood out as a supporter of equality and women's rights. After
finishing her studies, she worked as an engineer and also wrote articles for
different newspapers that sought reforms.
In 2003, she joined the Defenders of Human Rights
Center in Tehran, an organisation established by Nobel Peace Prize winner
ShirinEbadi. Mohammadi was first arrested in 2011 and received a long prison
sentence for her work in aiding activists and their families.
In 2013, after being granted bail, Mohammadi focused
on advocating against the death penalty. However, she was arrested again in
2015 and given more years of imprisonment.
Having been arrested 13 times and handed five
sentences totalling 31 years in prison along with 154 lashes, the Nobel Prize
laureate has experienced repeated incarcerations over the last twenty years.
Mohammadi stands as a prominent figure among those
leading the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, marked by widespread protests
throughout Iran following the death of MahsaAmini, a 22-year-old who died while
in custody after being detained for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress
codes for women. The family of MahsaAmini, set to receive the Sakharov Prize on
her behalf in France, has been prohibited from leaving Iran, as disclosed by
their lawyer in France to AFP on Saturday.
The activist's husband, TaghiRahmani, said her hunger
strike is to support the Baha'i religious minority, highlighting two of its
imprisoned leaders, MahvashSabet and FaribaKamalabadi, who have also started
refusing food.
“She said that ‘I will start my hunger strike on the
day that I am being granted this prize, perhaps then the world will hear more
about it,’” Rahmani was quoted by AFP as saying.
Representatives of the Baha'i community in Iran note
that they face discrimination across various aspects of society, the AFP report
said.
Earlier in November, Mohammadi had already gone on a
hunger strike for a few days, seeking the right to be transferred to a hospital
without wearing a head covering.
Source: Hindustan Times
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‘Shariah For Women’s Share In Inheritance’
Dec 10, 2023
Lucknow: Muslim personal law mandates that women —
mother, sister, wife, daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, stepsister,
grandmother and great-grandmother — should get share in inheritance as directed
by holy Quran, said Islamic scholar Maulana Nasrullah Nadwi .
He was speaking at the conference of Tafheem-e-Shariat
(Understanding of Shariyat), which was organised under the aegis of All India
Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) at DarulUloom Farangi Mahal in Lucknow.
The conference was chaired by Maulana Atiq Ahmed
Bastavi, where he addressed the issue of women's role in the structure of the
family. Conference was inaugurated by Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali Imam
Eidgah Lucknow.
Speaking on the subject of 'Women's Share in
Inheritance', Maulana Mohammad NasrullahNadwi, who is also the secretary of
Darul Uloom FarangiMahal, said: “Islam is the first religion which has given women
a share in the property of their parents, husband and son as per Shariah.
Muslims Personal law mandates that shares in the inheritance be given to
mother, sister, wife, daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter,
step-sister, grandmother and great-grandmother, as instructed by Quran.”
Maulana Mohammad Omar AbidinQasmi on the subject of
KhulaShariahNuktaNazar, said: “Islamic Shariat has given the right and
authority to woman to terminate the marriage through Khula, if her husband
subjects her to oppression and deprive her of her rights.”
In the conference, High Court advocate Sheikh Saud
Raees added: "It has been mentioned in the Shariat application act 1937
that the cases in which both the parties are Muslims and those cases relate to
Nikah, Khula, Faskh, Tafreek, Talaq, Iddat, Nafka, inheritance, will, Hiba,
Vilayat, Rizaat, Hazanat and Waqf, should be decided under Muslim personal law
only.”
Denmark parliament adopts law banning Quran
burningDenmark's parliament adopts law criminalising Quran burnings; bill
prohibits inappropriate treatment of writings with significant religious
importance; law forbids burning, tearing or defiling holy texts publicly or in
disseminated videos; fine or up to two years in prison for offenders; law
enacted in response to recent Quran desecrations and protests; temporary border
controls implemented; 483 incidents of book and flag burnings documented;
revisions made to address freedom of expression concerns; critics view law as
potential blasphemy resurgence.105818765
Muslim woman assaulted by brother-in-law for voting
for BJP in MP's SehoreA Muslim woman in Sehore district, Madhya Pradesh, was
allegedly beaten up by her family members for voting for the BJP. The incident
occurred on December 4, a day after the election results were announced. The
woman filed a complaint and a case has been registered against her
brother-in-law. The video of the assault has been circulating on social media
and arrests have been made.105857172
Source: Times Of India
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Elderly Palestinian Woman 'Older Than Israel' Killed
By Israeli Sniper
09 December, 2023
An elderly Palestinian woman who went viral on social
media after saying that she's "older than Israel" was shot dead by
Israeli snipers outside her house.
The woman, HadiyaNassar, appeared in a video where
Palestinian journalist Saleh Aljafarawi, holding her ID card, said, "you
are older than Israel".
Nassar, who was born in 1944 - four years before
Israel's creation - replied, "of course, of course," adding, "I
am holding on to the [Palestinian] land."
Aljafarawi confirmed her death on social media site X
on Thursday, writing: "You were martyred, my beloved. May God have mercy
on your and make your resting place Paradise."
According to Al Jazeera, Aljafarawi's cousin, who was
Nassar'sneighbour, told him that she was killed by an Israeli sniper outside
her front door.
Her death comes as the death toll from Israel's deadly
military campaign in Gaza reaches 17,487 people, including 7,729 children,
according to Gaza's health authorities.
Included in the figure are civilians such as
Palestinian academic and writer RefaatAlareer, who was targeted in an Israeli
airstrike on Thursday, alongside his sister and four children.
The number of civilian deaths in Gaza prompted Doctors
without Borders to describe Israel's military campaign in Gaza as one of
"indiscriminate killing".
Source: Newarab.Com
https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinian-woman-older-israel-killed-israel
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US: Texas Supreme Court Blocks Pregnant Woman With
Complications From Emergency Abortion
Dec 9, 2023
TEXAS: The Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocked a
pregnant woman from obtaining an emergency abortion even though her foetus was
diagnosed with a 'fatal genetic condition', CNN reported.
The court froze the lower court's ruling that would
have allowed Kate Cox -- who sued the state seeking a court-ordered abortion --
to obtain the procedure.
According to CNN, Cox is 20 weeks pregnant and her
unborn baby was diagnosed with a fatal genetic condition she says "complications
in her pregnancy are putting her health at risk".
"We are talking about urgent medical care. Kate
is already 20 weeks pregnant," said Molly Duane, an attorney at the Center
for Reproductive Rights. "This is why people should not need to beg for
healthcare in a court of law."
Paxton's petition stemmed from a ruling on Thursday by
a Texas judge who granted a 14-day temporary restraining order against the
state's abortion ban, so Cox could legally terminate her pregnancy.
The decision marked a significant development in the
ongoing debate over the state's medical exception to its controversial ban on
abortions after six weeks - one of the strictest in the nation.
Cox sought an emergency hearing to obtain an abortion
after learning her unborn baby had trisomy 18, a fatal genetic condition, and
is not expected to live more than a few days outside the womb, according to the
suit.
Cox, 31, has been to three different emergency rooms
in the last month due to severe cramping and unidentifiable fluid leaks,
according to her suit.
She has had two prior caesarean surgeries - C-sections
- and, the suit said, "continuing the pregnancy puts her at high risk for
severe complications threatening her life and future fertility, including
uterine rupture and hysterectomy", CNN reported.
Before the state's Supreme Court weighed in, attorneys
for Cox and the Center for Reproductive Rights -- an abortion rights legal
group representing Cox -- said Paxton's petition to block her procedure was
"stunning" and showed a "disregard for Cox's life, fertility,
and the rule of law."
The filing by Cox's side requests the state Supreme
Court to reject Paxton's threat of prosecution of the doctors and anyone else
who helps facilitate the abortion.
Molly Duane, Cox's attorney, couldn't say, when and
where Cox would be getting the abortion, but added that they planned to help
get her the care "the fastest way" possible, according to CNN.
Source: Times Of India
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/marital-rape-unnatural-offence-wife/d/131285