Rape and Sexual Violence in Hinduism

by Jayaram V

Summary: Find out the scriptural basis of what Hinduism has to say about sexual violence and rape against married and unmarried women.

India has a high incidence of rape and sexual violence against women. To curb the problem, the government of India did introduce many stringent laws, including capital punishment for those who are convicted of raping girl children under the age of 12. For speedy trial of serious cases, the government introduced fast track courts.

Despite such laws, the number of sexual assaults on women seems to be steadily on the increase, partly may be because people are becoming more sensitized to the problem and their rights to legal remedy, and partly because of the growing population and migration to urban areas. According to one estimate, a rape happens in some part of the country for every 20 or 30 seconds, making it one of the commonest and frequent crimes against women. Eve teasing, shaming and harassment of women in public places is also common in both rural and urban areas.

However, official statistics on the number of rapes and sexual assaults cannot fully be relied upon because most rape cases (up to 70% according to some estimates) go unreported due to social pressure, the slow and grinding manner in which the redressal mechanism works, and the stigma attached to women who go through them. A few gruesome incidents catch public attention, igniting widespread outrage, media coverage and public debate, forcing the lawmakers to introduce new laws, make public announcements or reform the existing ones.

In this essay, we will focus upon how Hinduism views rape cases and sexual violence against women and its moral and spiritual implications for those who perpetrate it. Before we begin the discussion, let us not forget that religious or ethical idealism rarely or seldom reflects the harsh realities of life. Our aspiration for the best of human conduct do not necessarily translate into reality. The mere fact that some rules and restrains are prescribed in the religious texts does not mean that people are aware of them or abide in them. A large segment of society is governed by practical compulsions and secular goals, although statistically they may count as religious or spiritual people. With this in mind, let us examine what Hinduism has to say about gender and sexual violence against women.

Emphasis on respect and honor

Hindu law books place great emphasis upon protecting women to prevent atrocities against them. They recognize the role women play in the propagation and continuation of dharma and preservation of family traditions and lineages. They put women on a high pedestal, for they recognize their role in the order and regularity of the world. According to a Vedic belief, a married woman not only is the wife of her husband but also becomes his mother, as he is again born through her as her child. Thus, the wife is key to the continuation of a householder and his lineage in this world and in the next.

Therefore, the law books recognize the need for a happy family and a happy household, in which the parents live in harmony with each other and contribute to the promotion and preservation of dharma. They highlight the importance of treating women with respect and honor as a part of a householder’s obligatory duty. That duty begins from the very childhood, when one receives initiation and becomes a student, and continues until the end or until one takes up sanyasa or the vow of renunciation.

To honor, protect and respect the women of the household, this indeed is the onerous and obligatory duty of all men in each Hindu family. They shall never put them to unnecessary suffering or neglect or dishonor. The consequences of not doing it is fraught with terrible consequences for the reputation and continuation of all involved. It may be noted that in the very beginning of the Bhagavadgita, Arjuna expressed this concern to Krishna and used it to justify his refusal to fight.

The ideal is clearly emphasized in the lawbooks. Women may not have the same status as men in many respects, but they deserve to be treated well for their happiness and wellbeing and those of the families they serve as coparticipants in the observation of dharma. References to it are found in the Manusmriti, (3.55-3.57) which declares that “women must be honored and adorned by their fathers, brothers, husbands, and brothers-in-law, those who desire (their own) welfare. Where women are honored, there the gods are pleased; but where they are not honored, no sacred rite yields rewards. Where the female relations live in grief, the family soon wholly perishes; but that family where they are not unhappy ever prospers.”

The lawbooks recognize the vulnerability of women to violence and abuse, and the fact that they are physically weak and mostly depend upon their husbands and male members of the family for protection and support. Hence, they put the onus of protecting women and girl children upon men, especially the men of the households to which they belong.

Manu (5.147 & 149) also suggested that since a girl child or a young woman cannot be on her own due to the obligations placed upon her by God’s eternal laws, she has to be constantly guarded and protected. He stipulates, “In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her husband is dead, to her sons.” He also adds, “A woman must never be independent. She must not seek to separate herself from her father, husband, or sons; by leaving them she would make both (her own and her husband’s) families contemptible.”

The importance of women’s honor in the affairs of men is also amply conveyed in the epics namely the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Both are based upon the theme that disrespect, violence and aggression against women lead to wars, strife, suffering and the downfall of those who indulge in it. For example, in the first instance, Ravana abducted Sita, resulting in a terrible war in which he ultimately perished. In the second, in a display of revenge and treachery, the evil Kaurava brothers tried to disrobe and publicly shame Draupadi, which deepened the hostilities between the cousins and made the war of succession unavoidable. The same theme is illustrated in the story of the impulsive abduction of Amba by Bhishma. It caused two wars, and eventually led to the death of Bhishma. Even gods honor the law of showing respect and deference to women. They treat their consorts with respect and generously allow them to have the final word in personal disputes to keep them happy.

Violence against married women

While promulgating laws to protect women from predatory men and sexual violence, the law books draw a clear distinction between married and unmarried women. The laws aim to protect them from their own internal vulnerabilities and external threats. Women are advised to protect their chastity and purity by avoiding contact with men and engaging in household duties, religious rituals and penances. Men are advised to guard their women against outside threats.

They also prescribe harsh punishments for abduction, seduction and other forms of sexual misconduct. Manusmriti (8.323) recommends capital or corporal punishment for those who steal women, condoning at the same time those who slay others in defense of their women, stating that such acts are not sinful (8.349) because it is a part of man’s duty towards his wife or dependent women.

The law books also impose restrictions upon women's freedom and their movements in public to protect them from other men against temptation and chances of physical harm or sexual advances. They lay down that married women shall not meet or speak to other men, without a responsible male family member present. Mendicants, bards, men who performed the initiatory ceremony of a Vedic sacrifice and artisans are exempt from this rule. The wives of actors and singers, women who act as spies, and independent women who live on their own are exempt from this rule because of the nature of their duties and lifestyles.

They also prescribe strict laws and severe punishments (which inflict extreme fear) for adultery (8.352) since it is antithetical to the order and regularity of the world and leads to disrepute, confusion of castes, decline of dharma and social disorder. In such cases, the king is the ultimate authority to prescribe punishments as deemed fit by him.

Manu was more interested in preventive measures than punitive ones. Hence, he laid down rules of engagement to prevent predatory men from approaching vulnerable women. Men were not supposed under any circumstances to communicate with the wives of other men in the absence of their husbands or in secrecy. If they did so, they were liable to be fined or punished or excommunicated. The sentences increased in severity in case of repeat offenders.

He also made it obligatory for householders not only to protect the honor and virtue of their wives, women servants and other women in their charge but also treat women of other households with exemplary conduct. Men are strictly advised to avoid touching other women where they shall not be touched or meeting them in private or secrecy. They shall not touch their dress or jewelry, or sit with them on the same bed. Doing so, with or without their consent, is deemed adulterous and punishable. For adulterous acts, Manu recommended capital punishment for men of lower castes and severe punishments and fines for others.

Natural calamities, wars, famines and social unrest also made women vulnerable to sexual violence. Wars were frequent in ancient India. They put women of all categories at great risk, as able-bodied men in the service of the king had to leave their homes and accompany him to the battlefield, leaving their women to their own care or in the care of elders and relatives. The chances of their returning from the battlefield were abysmally bleak. Even if they returned, it is doubtful whether they returned to their households or lived in peace, as the possibility of another war was always there. If they lost, their families were exposed to even greater risk. Victorious armies not only plundered and pillaged the land they conquered but also abducted women and carried them off to be sold as slave girls or pleasure women or forced into submission.

Wives and daughters of traders and merchants also faced many risks since they traveled frequently to distant lands by land or sea to engage in trade and commerce, leaving them to their own fate at home. The journey usually took weeks, months or years, depending upon the distances involved. Sometimes they safely returned and sometimes they did not. Those who returned might have also taken a long time to complete their journey, while their women and children waited anxiously for their return. Their lives and fortunes were also endangered by wars and marauding troops in distant lands they had to traverse, diseases and wayside robberies. The practice of sati probably found justification in some parts of India because of such expediencies. It offered a convenient way for helpless and lonely women to save their honor and reputation and escape from neglect, uncertainty, sexual violence and predatory men.

Violence against young and unmarried women

Hindu Dharma does not regard sexual intercourse as an evil or sinful act in itself, but an essential and integral aspect of Nature and preservation of Dharma. Enjoying sexual pleasure (kama) is one of the main aims of a householder’s life. However, it must be done responsibly in the larger interests of dharma. Accordingly, some types of sexual conduct and relationships are permissible and conducive to dharma, while some are unlawful, unnatural and sinful and produce sinful consequences.

From this perspective, the law books often leave the decision of establishing sexual relationships to personal choice and will. While married women have an obligation to live righteously and remain faithful to their husbands, men were not subjected to the same standards. They were not completely prohibited from seeking sexual pleasure outside their marriage from free women and consenting maidens who attained puberty. In all such cases, mutual consent is important, and the use of violence or force is strictly prohibited. If maidens were in the care and protection of their fathers and had no freedom to exercise their free will, they were not to be approached or tempted. It is considered unlawful even in Buddhism.

Ancient Hindu laws did not condone men who engaged in forced sex or sexual violence with maidens or unmarried women who attained puberty. While child marriages were common, girl children were not to be sexually violated until they were ready for motherhood since the very purpose of entering a marriage relationship was not to enjoy sexual pleasure but to bear children and continue the lineage.

The law books reflect this. Manusmriti (8.364) prescribes corporal or capital punishment for men who rape maidens or engage in unlawful sexual intercourse with them against their will and without their consent, using force, violence and fear of threat. It states that a man who violates an unwilling maiden shall instantly suffer corporal punishment, while a man who enjoys a willing maiden can be condoned, if his caste is the same as hers. In other cases, he may have to pay a fine or face corporal punishment.

Manu prescribes the following punishments for those who violate the chastity of unmarried women against their will, using force or violence (8.367-370).

• If any man through insolence forcibly contaminates a maiden, two of his fingers shall be instantly cut off, and he shall pay a fine of six hundred (panas).
• A man of the same caste who defiles a willing maiden shall not suffer the amputation of his fingers, but shall pay a fine of two hundred (panas) in order to deter him from a repetition (of the offense).
• A young woman who pollutes another young woman must be fined two hundred panas. She should also pay the double of her nuptial fee and receive ten lashes with a baton.
• However, a married woman who pollutes a maiden shall instantly have her head shaved or two fingers cut off, and be made to ride through the town on a donkey.
• Manu also suggested that those who defile maidens are unworthy of religious honors or rites. No Brahmana should perform funeral rites for such unworthy people (3.164). Even maligning the name of an unmarried girl by laying false accusation upon her character is worthy of punishment (8.225).

In ancient India unmarried women were also vulnerable to customary forced marriages which often involved violence and sexual assault. Hindu law books condemn two types of forced marriages which involve violence and rape. In the first, women are forcibly abducted from their homes after killing their kinsmen and sexually violated before they are forced into marriage. In the second, they are seduced and sexually violated while they are sleeping, intoxicated or disoriented before they are married in captivity and under coercion. The law books declare both types of marriage as sinful and inferior, and exhort Brahmanas of good reputation not to solemnize them and lend credence to them. According to the law books, only a virgin girl is entitled to participate in the sacrament of marriage in the traditional Vedic style and eligible to be gifted to gods for protection and blessings, before she is married to the bridegroom. Manu (8.226) states, “The nuptial texts are applied solely to virgins, (and) nowhere among men to females who have lost their virginity, for such (females) are excluded from religious ceremonies.”

Our duty and obligation in the present day context

It is important to remember that the law books are not inviolable. They are not divine injunctions (sruti), but manmade works (smriti), which are born out of human intellect and wisdom. The knowledge and laws which they contain do not necessarily reflect absolute truths, but relative ones which are meant to address specific issues and circumstances. They cannot universally be enforced since their applicability depends upon various factors that are themselves amorphous and transient.

By quoting passages form the ancient Hindu law books, we are not suggesting that we should revert to ancient laws and practices or revive outdate customs and traditions. We clearly recognize the importance of moving with times and using discretion and intelligence to guide our personal conduct and character within the broad framework of Hindu dharma, with liberation, duty, peace, happiness and universal brotherhood as its foundational principles. We need to be adaptive and responsive to the changing times and the demands life and circumstances places upon us for our collective survival and wellbeing. Knowing that we live upon earth for a limited time, we cannot be totally selfish or self-centered.

Our idea in presenting this article is to suggest that Hinduism abhors the very idea of using force or sexual violence against women of all ages and backgrounds. Every Hindu who abides in the dharma and regards himself a devotee of God has an obligatory duty towards women, who is considered a personification of Shakti. One should not lose sight of this fact.

Our scriptures suggest that the use of force or violence in any form (including verbal violence) against women for any purpose is reflective of the predominance of demonic nature (asura prvritti). Those who worship gods and avoid sinful karma should not fall into that mode and nourish their evil nature. The happiness and wellbeing of women in the household is of utmost importance, and in that men have a greater responsibility. They should protect the honor and integrity of not only their women but also women in general. It is by honoring them a householder upholds the eternal dharma and contributes to peace and happiness for all.

Atrocities against women have been committed in all traditions, cultures and communities by men since the beginning of human civilization. It is not a new phenomenon. India is not an exception. The evil aspect of human behavior cannot completely be controlled or curtailed by restrictive laws and regulations. The growing incidence of rapes in any country or community is a sign of collective failure of both men and women and governments and institutions at various levels.

In the equation between men and women, the latter have always been at a disadvantage. Women have a little chance of getting just treatment in the formulation of any laws since the lawmakers are mostly men and guided by their own perceptions. Women still suffer from many social, political, economic and legal disabilities. Their lives and destinies are still controlled by men in powerful positions and men who serve as opinion makers, authority figures and institutional leaders. Let us hope that this trend will reverse and women will take control of their voices, problems and priorities.