In Yemen, marital rape is still not considered a criminal offence. The crime of rape in our law does simply not include spousal rape. Article 489 of the Penal Code No. 148 of 1949 criminalises rape with the exception of the wife.
The laws of almost all Arab countries exclude marital rape as a criminal offence. The exception is Tunisia which criminalized spousal rape in 2017. Instead, here in Yemen the wife is considered disobedient if she refuses to have sex with her husband. Also, the woman’s refusal to have sex with her husband is a convincing reason for the husband to marry another woman. He has the right to have a substitute for the wife in bed.
It is forbidden for a woman in my society to refuse to have sex with her husband, as this is considered his right. In Yemen, once a woman is married she must obey her husband. According to the international human rights organization Amnesty International, women in Yemen face “systemic discrimination and pervasive violence.”
In Yemen, a husband can perform any violent sexual act on his wife. Ensuring sex for the husband is the most important duty of the wife. He doesn´t need to respect her desire.
Today, marital rape is considered a form of sexual assault in many countries. Sexual intercourse in marriage has historically been considered a right of mainly the husband, but forcing the spouse to engage in a sexual act without consent has over the years been outlawed in many states around the world.
Women are oftentimes the victims of spousal rape, but men can of course also be subject to this type of assault. In my view, marital rape continues to be allowed in Yemen due to a complex web of government and cultural practices. The reluctance to criminalize and prosecute marital rape is mainly due to traditional and patriarchal views on marriage and reliance on conservative interpretations of Islamic doctrines. It is also linked to outdated ideas and views on sexual nature and instincts among women and men as well as wrongful assumptions about the subjugation of the wife. These views on marriage and sex began being challenged in Western countries in the 1960s and 70s, and feminist movements of the time pushed for women’s right to self-determination and bodily rights.
