Breaking free from societal fetters

Social changes are slow to occur, specially in a huge country like India where customs, age-old beliefs, religion and archaic laws act as a roadblock. Since the late 20th century, most of the developed world has criminalised marital rape, but the existing laws in India have a very narrow take on it. And it becomes all the more difficult when our lawmakers stand against it. Recently, minister of state for home affairs Haribhai Chaudhary said that marital rape can’t be made a criminal offence in India because of high illiteracy rate, poverty, extreme religious beliefs and the very “sanctity” of marriage.

To address this issue and to show how women themselves are conditioned to accept their situation, Saitan Theatre Group staged a Hindi play titled Pinjra that narrates the tale of two women Siya and Jaanki — the acronyms of Sita, wife of Lord Ram who underwent “agnee pariksha” to prove her chastity. Both the women in the play go through the same ordeal that resembles the real-life situation of many women today.

The play opens with Jaanki, a girl-next-door, who thinks that marriage is a beginning of a wonderful dream where a prince will come and take her away to a felicitous land and they would live happily ever after.

However, the lines of romance and real life starts blurring when her husband gets abusive. The innocent consent that Jaanki gives every night to her husband subjects her more to physicality and the bodily pleasures than forging an emotional bond. Unable to take the physical abuse every night, Jaanki decides to tell her mother, and when she does so her mother tells her to endure because this is what Jaanki’s father has been doing throughout their marriage.

Cut to Circa 1863. It’s been two years since Sati was banned by Queen Victoria. Siya’s husband dies in the crossfire between revolutionaries and British forces. According to the common practice, Siya is all set to perform the Sati ritual. In fact, she believes that this will bring her closer to her dead husband.

A day before the ritual, Raav, her childhood friend, abducts Siya to stop her from burning herself on the funeral pyre of her husband. Siya hates Raav for she believes that it’s her fate to perform Sati.

The play addresses the practice of Sati and marital rape well. It shows how confusion, self-doubt and social anxiety prevents women from disassociating from their husbands to create their own identity. So much so that they accept what comes their way.

The dilemma faced by these two women is highlighted by minimal stage setting and apt pauses between dialogues. It questions whether marriage is a contract for legal sex, among other things — where a man doesn’t need to ask for permission and is free to impose himself on the wife It is to be seen if they are able to break free from their respective cages.

Namita Verma, co-founder of Saitan Theatre Group, says, “Women have been subjected to many atrocities since time immemorial, and even today they live with the pain of being handcuffed by social obligations rooted deep in our history. While Sati has been abolished, marital rape is still a very real problem with studies indicating that almost 10-14 per cent of married women are raped by their husbands. Our endeavour is to show what these women go through.”

Rajneesh Gautam, the founder and director of Saitan Theatre Group, says: “We chose this subject because it is happening around us and we are still showing ignorance. Sexual assault by one’s spouse accounts for approximately 25 per cent of rapes committed. While the Indian society is known for its civilisation and culture, there rest some pertinent questions related to the life of women, specially married women, who are left ignored, portraying the resilient suffering of women choked in four-deaf-walls or even back in the history. We are against this kind of approach and that is why we conceptualised this play. We have a lot of wolves in the street but sometimes they live inside our house under sheep’s skin.”

Pinjra is a right step to create more awareness about marital rape. Its conclusion lends courage to those women who are suffering in silence. It is time to break free from the mental prison that women are often trapped in. It also gives hope to those who are fighting to amend the laws on marital rape.