According to Global Gender Gap Report 2020, Bangladesh has obtained the 50th position of the gender-neutral country among 153 countries globally. BD has been also declared as the top gender-neutral country in South Asia. Indeed this information highlights a very affirmative progressive trait of BD regarding Gender Justice. Despite having such progress, BD still needs a long way to go. UNICEF report 2020 says, “Bangladesh is home to 38 million child brides, including currently married girls along with women who were first married in childhood. Of these, 13 million married before age 15.” For providing appropriate support to the rape victim women, BD yet needs to progress a lot.

CEDAW Article 16(c) talks about the same rights, and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution. Similar to many other South Asian countries, BD’s patriarchal societal values also unaddressed “marital rape” socially. In fact, there is no specific policy regarding this in BD. Though article 375 of penal code 1860 prioritize women’s will and consent strictly for intercourse. But the very same article also states Exception: Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under thirteen years of age, is not rape. This seems conflicting with Section 375(2) which covers statutory rape and clearly states that sexual intercourse with a woman “with or without her consent, when she is under fourteen years of age” is considered to be rape. Once Sherri Davis explains in Marital Rape: The Legislative Battle, the matrimonial consent theory was justified by the English common law assumptions that upon marriage, a wife became the property of her husband or that the spouses became one entity. Legally, then, a husband could not be guilty of assaulting or raping his own chattel, and in the latter case, the “one entity” principle made it impossible to charge a husband with rape. Furthermore, The Prevention of Oppression against Women and Children Act 2000, still referred back to section 375 of the Penal Code and thereby maintained the marital rape exemption.

There is a saying, “Rape is the only crime where the victim is obliged to prove her innocence.” In most rape cases, Victim is the only witness, as a result, the court considers the victim’s statement so important. In BD, Section 155 (4)  Act, 1872 states, when a man is prosecuted for rape, it may be shown that the complainant was of immoral character, therefore raising the question of the victim’s character as a justification of rape.  According to Rape Statistics By Country 2021, the rate of cased raped files is 9.82 in BD. Indeed, these facts seem pretty frustrating to address marital rape and the establishment of enjoying equal rights in marriage (CEDAW 16(C). It’s high time to unlearn the medieval notion that considers marriage for women as the contract of all-time consent to sexual intercourse. We have to realize the gender injustice of the sexist power dynamics patriarchal cultures regarding marital rape. Everyone should raise their voice against rape and it always should be considered a crime.