An Uttar Pradesh minister found himself in hot water on Sunday evening when he gave his two pence on the 'nature of rape' and questioned if the rape of a married woman is actually rape.
Upendra Tiwari, the minister in question, had said, "Dekhiye rape ka nature hota hai, ab jaise agar koi nabalig ladki hai uske sath rape hua hai toh usko to hum rape manenge, lekin kahin-kahin pe ye bhi sunne ko aata hai ko ki vivahit mahila hai, umar 30-35 saal hai....uska alag-alag nature hai (See, rape has its nature. If a young girl (minor) has been raped, then we can call it rape. But if a married woman, who can be 30-35 years of age, has been raped, then the matter is different).
#WATCH UP Minister Upendra Tiwari: Dekhiye rape ka nature hota hai, ab jaise agar koi nabalig ladki hai uske sath rape hua hai toh usko to hum rape manenge, lekin kahin-kahin pe ye bhi sunne ko aata hai ko ki vivahit mahila hai, umar 30-35 saal hai....uska alag-alag nature hai pic.twitter.com/Ou1AMPsvGB
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 9, 2019
He is the minister of state (independent charge) for Water Resources, forest and environment.
The minister's insensitive comments come at a time when women's safety is the topic of conversation at the moment and in India, rape is one of the most common crimes against women. And marital rape is not considered a criminal offence in the country.
Recently, a two and half year old girl in Aligarh has brutally murdered over a repayment a loan of Rs 10,000. While her autopsy ruled out rape, the post-mortem showed that her arms, hands, ribs left leg and nose were fractured.
