A Body of Pain – Questioning Marital Rape
Channel: VideoVolunteers
Date: 2017-02-14

Today is Valentine’s Day. There will hearts and candies and flowers, at least in the metros. There will also be rapes, in both cities and villages. Legally sanctioned, “sacramental”, marital rapes inside homes. The discourse around rape in India still revolves around a woman’s “izzat” or honour. Once she gets married, her “izzat” ceases to matter even as she is subjected to rape by her husband who is supposedly her protector and guardian.

When Video Volunteer’s correspondent Usha Patel began initiating conversations about sexual consent within marriage in her village Buddhipur in Uttar Pradesh, the evidence was stark. Asked point blank about who had a right over their bodies, the women in her community said, “the husband“.

Questioning marital rape needs to start at the grassroots. VV’s Gender Correspondents who do in-depth interviews with women and men in their communities and organise gender discussion clubs around these videos are powering a change in attitudes. And change is in the air. You can see it when Rekha Devi of Buddhipur village looks into the camera and asks, “I want to ask men, why do you behave like this? What are we to you?”

THESE VIDEOS WERE MADE BY VIDEO VOLUNTEERS COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENTS. THIS SERIES DOCUMENTING EVERYDAY PATRIARCHY IS SUPPORTED BY UNFPA

Community Correspondents comes from marginalised communities in India and produce videos on unreported stories. These stories are ’news by those who live it.’ they give the hyper-local context to global human rights and development challenges. See more such videos at www.videovolunteers.org. Take action for a more just global media by sharing their videos and joining in their call for change.