Marital rape is a social crime, violating the fundamental right and dignity of a married woman. It de-shapes the concept of Patriarchy and breaches the trust of a wife. In spite of that has not been criminalized as rape in India, because of our belief that marriages are sacred. But then how does one justify violence within a marriage? Does a woman have to write off all her rights over her body when she enters into matrimony? Statistics paint a disturbing picture about the condition of married women in our country. We live in a society where marriage is seen as a license for sexual pleasure, but what happens when the sex is not consensual? Is it legal for a husband to rape his wife? Is it because a wife is being considered an object or the property of the husband? Why there are different set of rules for women facing sexual violence outside a marriage and within? Why is our country in oblivion about the atrocities committed on women after marriage? Today we talk about empowerment of women in broad perspectives. But in such a male dominated society, would women be empowered in true sense without criminalizing marital rape? The main purpose of this paper is to explore the socio-political and legal paradoxes regarding marital rape, provide arguments and reasons necessitating criminalization of marital rape and lastly, recommend certain behavioural norms that can be adopted in the society to improve the situation of women in this area.