Mauritius lawmakers have voted to criminalise marital rape, a landmark reform for women’s rights that brings an end to a colonial-era law.
The island nation passed the new law on Tuesday, with those found guilty of marital rape set to face between 10 and 45 years in prison.
“It shall not be a defence for a person charged with the offence of rape that he was, at the time of the offence, civilly or religiously married to the complainant,” the law states.
It was praised as a crucial step in the fight against domestic violence in a country where official records show 86.6 percent of victims are women.
“The government recognises that domestic violence must be treated as a serious offence and not as a private matter,” Attorney General Gavin Glover told parliament.
Under the new law, perpetrators of murder or attempted murder against a spouse will also face sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.
The president is expected to sign the proposed law once it is published in the official gazette.
“This reform is a courageous political choice in the face of cultural pressures,” said Foreign Minister Ritish Ramful.
The new law “shakes certain traditional conceptions of marriage… where wives are seen as property,” he added.
Only 21 of Africa’s 55 countries explicitly criminalise marital rape, according to women’s rights NGO Equality Now, while four have domestic violence laws that prohibit sexual violence within marriage.
“A lot of countries still are reluctant to directly criminalise marital rape,” Equality Now’s associate director Jean-Paul Murunga told AFP, adding that police and judicial systems still treat perpetrators with “leniency”.
“What happened in Mauritius is a very good step,” Murunga added.
