The government scored a major victory on Tuesday by managing to get its politically contentious bill seeking to ban the practice of instant triple talaq passed. It’s a historic moment as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) succeeded in getting the Muslim Women Bill voted through despite stiff opposition from the Congress. The government won the day by 99-84 votes giving us quite a bit to be proud of our government for.
In all honesty, the passage of triple talaq bill by Parliament was a milestone in the quest for gender justice and it was long due.
Reuters
But believe it or not, we have a long way to go because there are still a few laws that are absolutely ridiculous and bear no logic, rationality or relevance. We’ve rounded five more such laws that need to be scrapped.
1. Marital rape remains non-criminalised in India.
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The government’s stand that criminalising marital rape would “destabilise the institution of marriage” and it could become an easy tool to “harass husbands” is utterly disappointing. The government seems to have found some bizarre correlation between saving the institution of marriage and not criminalising marital rape. Under section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, marital rape is still not a criminal offense. It needs to be made a criminal offense because even if you are married, consent for any sexual act is still important.
2. The Police Act of 1861.
Reuters
The Police Act, 1861 gives the control of the police directly in the hands of the political executive i.e the state government. At the present time, the Head of Police reports directly to the chief minister of the state. Such a regulation has naturally resulted in wide-spread politicisation of the police where loyalty is owed not to the law but to the ruling political party.
3. Section 309: Attempt to commit suicide.
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Attempting to commit suicide could land you in jail. Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) criminalised attempts to suicide and made it punishable.
4. Prostitution is legal but being a pimp is illegal.
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As far as laws are concerned, prostitution in India is legal. However, Indian penal code states that certain activities related to prostitution are against the law. Such as, soliciting such services at public places including hotels, being an owner of a brothel or even running one and pimping. Most of these activities mentioned are a byproduct of prostitution as a profession. And by classifying them as strictly illegal is the Indian legal system say that prostitution is effectively illegal? That is a question that demands an answer.
5. No uniform drinking age.
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There is no uniform drinking age in India. Since alcohol and all matters related to it come under the jurisdiction of the state government, every state has gone ahead and kept a different drinking age. So, the legal drinking age in Goa is 18 while in Maharashtra it’s 25. Adding to the confusion, is the fact that the legal age for hard liquor like whiskey, vodka etc. is different for liquor like beer and wine.
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