Thursday, August 13th, 2009
Not only among our neighbours (and many in Asia), but also in the distant nation of The Bahamas, marital rape is being taken seriously:
The government presented legislation to Parliament that would completely ban marital rape in The Bahamas.
Presently, marital rape is only recognized in The Bahamas if the couple is separated or is in the progress of getting a divorce.
This has similarities to the position in Singapore, where marital rape is only treated as rape in limited circumstances.
This interesting article details the reactions of a number of Christian ministers in The Bahamas. They state that the ethical teachings of their faith condemn marital rape, and acknowledge that state law must hold perpetrators of violence accountable.
Bishop Williams said marriage ordained by God involves caring, sharing and love for one’s spouse. Therefore, a man living by the Word of God is not going to willfully violate his own wife. He advises that if there are any problems (especially those sexual in nature) in the marriage, a husband who loves his wife as God says he should, will be more understanding about the matter and be able to deal with it by showing love and not violently or by force.
“If by force, then where is the love of God in his heart?”
Grand Bahama Christian Council President Bishop Sobig Kemp believes the amendment of the marital rape law does not go against the word of God because love is the fulfilment of God’s word.
“Love never forces itself on a person, that is not God’s way,” Bishop Kemp said. “Therefore it is never demonstrated with violence or abuse. This problem arises because of self or personal gratification in a relationship without any concern or interest for the other person. This is totally contrary to God’s Word.”
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Thursday, August 6th, 2009
The Straits Times reports on the first use of a law, introduced in Malaysia in 2007, which is intended to address marital rape:
A MALAYSIAN man who forced his wife to have sex with him has been sentenced to the maximum five years in jail, in what appears to be the country’s first successful prosecution under a new law against stop marital rape. [...]
‘We hope this will inspire other wives who suffer in silence to come out and seek justice for themselves,’ Judge Hassan Abdul Ghani was quoted by the Times as saying.
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Saturday, July 11th, 2009
In Afghanistan, too, marital immunity for rape is being hotly debated. In March, the President signed a law entitling men to sexual access to their wives’ bodies every four days – in effect, legalising marital rape. This was accompanied by other proposals marking Afghan women out as property of their husbands: for example, requiring them to obtain permission before leaving their homes. This was met by intense domestic protest, with hundreds of women taking to the streets of Kabul, and widespread international outcry.
This has had a welcome effect. Earlier this week, Afghan Justice Ministry officials announced they were backing down.
Like the Afghan demonstrators, we too must make our voices heard. The signatories on this petition have increased to more than 600, and now include – in addition to the notable figures we mentioned a few days ago – NMP Siew Kum Hong, TV presenter Anita Kapoor, playwright Ovidia Yu, legal academic Associate Professor Chan Wing Cheong, former NTU Associate Professor Alfred Choi, and radio emcee Joe Augustin.
Our numbers are growing, but if we work together to keep spreading the message, we can do even better. So keep up the good work of circulating this URL through blogs, email and social media. Sign up for our newsletter. And please keep coming back to the blog. In the coming weeks, we will announce many more exciting actions we can all take to help create a victory for justice in Singapore.
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