Blog
Promoting dialogue between human rights researchers, practitioners and policy-makers from around the world.
Original contributions on recent human rights law developments across the globe, including case law, current litigation, legislation, policy-making and activism are welcome.
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Karan Tripathi 23rd May 2018
Despite India’s liberal and secular commitments, honour killing has remained a social reality. A report by the National Crime Records Bureau records at least 288 cases of such violence in the period 2014-2016. Against this background, the Supreme Court of India, on 28th March 2018, passed a landmark judgment in Shakti Vahini v. Union of […]
23rd April 2018
In a recent case before the Indian Supreme Court, Ms X v Mahmood Farooqi, the court refused to overturn a Delhi High Court decision which set a dangerous precedent that a ‘feeble no’ did not signify a lack of consent in rape cases. In the present case, Ms X accused Mahmood Farooqi of committing rape […]
Madhulika T 6th April 2018
Following Puttaswamy v Union of India – in which the judges unanimously and unequivocally ruled that a right to privacy exists – the marital rape exception found in the Indian Penal Code which states that non-consensual sex between a man and his wife is not rape, is of questionable legal standing. In India “a right to privacy” […]
Tarika Jain 20th March 2018
According to a study conducted on members of the Bohra community in India, a startling 75% of the daughters of the 94 participants were subjected to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) around the age of seven to nine years, in accordance with their religious customs. A majority of the reported cases were of Type 1 FGM/C […]
Surya Rajkumar 25th February 2018
In an order dated 6/11/2017, the High Court of Gujarat described marital rape as “a disgraceful offence that has scarred the trust and confidence in the institution of marriage”, proposing to consider, through its own motion, whether a husband forcing his wife to perform oral sex constitutes an offence under the provisions of the Indian […]