has been a rise in the incidence of rape as men are
more confident of escaping detection, while fear of
imprisonment for zinà dissuades women from
making accusations of rape (Marcus 1993). Within
the rape law in Pakistan, marital rape is not crimi-
nalized, giving husbands hegemonic rights over the
bodies of their wives.
In India, rape is legally defined as penile penetra-
tion into the vagina. Amendments to the rape law
made in the 1980s introduced a new category of
rape, namely, rape by members of the police within
their official jurisdiction, by public servants, by
superintendents or managers of jails, remand
homes, hospitals, of women under their custody,
including gang rape. Within this category of rape
the onus of proof was shifted from the defendant to
the accused, which reversed the generally applica-
ble legal principle of innocence until proven guilty.
As in Pakistan, the rape law does not recognize
marital rape as a legal category under Section 375
of the Indian Penal Code.Civil society responses
While the reality of rape and sexual assault for
women in South Asia can seem daunting the
responses of civil society are extremely heartening.
In Bangladesh, many women’s organizations exist
that work toward responding to specific cases,
legal awareness, and consciousness raising. These
include autonomous groups such as Ain o Salish
Kendra and Nari Pokkho, party-linked organiza-
tions such as Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, and
state agencies such as the government of Bangla-
desh’s Women’s Affairs Directorate.
In Pakistan, women’s organizations in Pakistan
include the Women’s Action Forum, which was
formed in response to a judgment on zinà. Women
Against Rape works specifically with rape victims.
Simorgh Collective documents media coverage of
rape (Marcus 1993).704 rape
In India, the first major campaign of the fledgling
women’s movement was in the early 1980s around
the gang rape of a tribal girl, Mathura, by a group
of policemen in a police station and the role and
complicity of the judiciary in condoning it. The
anti-rape campaign took off in different cities
around the country almost simultaneously. Some of
the autonomous groups that emerged at this point
were the Forum Against Rape (later Forum Against
Oppression of Women), Saheli, Stree Sangharsh,
Asmita, and Vimochana (Vibhuti et al. 1983).
Responses to sexual violence against minority
women have been an integral part of the agenda of
these organizations, articulated in reports on the
Gujarat riots by women’s organizations (Hameed
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