Worrying: Muslim Man Acquitted of Rape Charges, of 15-year-old ‘wife’

Rapes charges against a Muslim man were dropped on ground that sexual relationship with a 15-year-old is not rape when she is his wife, such marriage being allowed under Muslim personal law (Source TOI).

This is a worrying news as we are forced to question whether a 15-year-old should be a wife? India has a rampant child marriage problem. 40% of the world’s child brides are in India. UNICEF estimates suggest that each year, at least 1.5 million girls married and nearly 16 per cent adolescent girls aged 15-19 are currently married. But Muslim personal law allows a girl of 15 years to be married. The marriage in this case was found to be legal even though under IPC and under POCSO Act it would be held illegal.

Even if we keep aside the laws for a minute, marriage and pregnancy at such early age is detrimental to the child’s physical and psychological growth. Years of research in sexual and reproductive health amongst woman have shown that it is extremely dangerous for the health of under age girls to get married and be pregnant.

Should we ignore all these concerns just because a particular religion allows it? Perhaps religion should be kept aside when it comes to women and girl’s equality and well being.

In the present case, while the acquitting the man of rape charges the Delhi High Court noted that the girl is his wife and is of “almost” 15 years. Which means, she is not yet 15. The girl had also deposed before the Court and informed that this man is her brother-in-law whom she married at a wedding she had gone to attend. She went to attend a wedding of her cousin where she married this man and later got pregnant. Her mother did not know about the marriage so when she found out that she is pregnant she filed a case of rape against the man. Since the man is her brother-in-law he must already be married and this might be his second marriage.

A grown up man taking a second wife of mere 15 years of age is highly inappropriate both legally, ethically and also from health perspective. It is also alarming that the Delhi High Court accepted accepted this 15-year-old girl’s deposition even though in law a person below 18 years of age is considered to be not of mature age to give consent or sign any contract. One has to be adult to be able to do both. In Muslim law marriage is a contract, but it seems the basic requirements of marriage and contract does not apply to Muslim women.

A uniform civil code is most definitely required to rectify these anomalies in law and ensure better sexual and reproductive health among Muslim girls and women, enable them to be fuller citizens of the nation by participating in the public life politically and economically. Unfortunately, any discourse on UCC tends to move towards allegations of Islamophobia and Hindu majoritarianism.