‘Women should speak up against marital rape’

Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif says women should not suffer silently and must speak up against marital rape and other atrocities committed against them. She said sometimes even educated women succumb to societal norms and maintain silence on important issues.

The 33-year-old actor said, “I know of educated women who remain silent in the face of violence because they are afraid to confront societal norms and have fingers pointed in their direction, especially when the majority fails to recognise marital rape as a crime.”

She said, “I would urge more women to speak up. It is not okay to feel inferior or weak, because we are not the weaker sex by any stretch of imagination.”

The actor was speaking at the WeUnite conference, which marks UN Women’s partnership with the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “The world has largely been led by patriarchal societies and women have through the years largely remained quiet in the face of atrocities rather than speak out against them.”

Gender inequality

Katrina said it was sad to know that there is gender inequality in a country that has had a woman as the head of state. “India had a woman as the head of state way before the United Kingdom, a feat the United States of America has not managed to achieve as yet. Which is why it is surprising to hear about gender inequality in India,” she said. “On a daily basis, there are shocking stories about violent crimes against women. Yet, I can only imagine how many crimes against women in India go unreported.”

Rise in reported crimes

Katrina, however, said this was not an India-specific problem. In India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau data, in 2001 the reported crimes against women were 1,43,795. In 2005, they went up to 3,27,394: more than a 100 per cent increase.

“I would like to believe that this rise in numbers is not an increase in crimes against women. It is an increase in the number of women who are ready to come forward and report them.”