Keep in mind that the government’s position on marital rape and criminalizing rape of married girls who older than 15 but younger than 18. Earlier this week, the Home Ministry said, “Although the age of consent is 18 years and child marriage is discouraged, marriage below permissible age is avoidable but not void on account of social realities. It is submitted that the social, economic and educational development of the country is still uneven and child marriages are taking place. It has been decided to retain the age of 15 years under the exception 2 of Section 375 so as to give protection to husband and wife against criminalising the sexual activity between them”. Criminalising marital rape would apparently put the Indian family system “under great stress”.