Upworthy is a popular American website that, according to their about page, tells the stories that are worth your time and make the world a better place.

Recently, it decided to turn its worthy attention to various sexist laws across different countries.

The product: this video, which shows various American women being told for the first time, over a melancholic upworthy beat, laws from different countries that oppressed and undermined women:

One of the culprits in the clip — in fact, the very first example given — was Singapore.

Here's what we were charged with:

13 years old?

Yes... technically. The law does indeed state that marital rape is not illegal unless the wife is under 13 years old:

The "13 years old" benchmark is somewhat of a misnomer, though, since other laws here prevent individuals that young from getting married.

A couple looking to get married in Singapore has to meet certain requisites, namely:

1. Both parties must be at least 21 years of age.

2. If one party is below below 21 years of age but above 18, the party's parents or legal guardian must give consent to the marriage.

3. And if both parties are between 18 and 21 years old, they must attend a marriage preparation programme.

Marital rape

And what about marital rape itself? Well that is, sadly, also true, with some minor caveats.

The following exceptions to the legality of marital rape are listed in the statutes, i.e. it is under the following conditions that rape in marriage is a crime:

a) his wife was living apart from him —

(i) under an interim judgment of divorce not made final or a decree nisi for divorce not made absolute;

(ii) under an interim judgment of nullity not made final or a decree nisi for nullity not made absolute;

(iii) under a judgment or decree of judicial separation; or

(iv) under a written separation agreement;

(b) his wife was living apart from him and proceedings have been commenced for divorce, nullity or judicial separation, and such proceedings have not been terminated or concluded;

(c) there was in force a court injunction to the effect of restraining him from having sexual intercourse with his wife;

(d) there was in force a protection order under section 65 or an expedited order under section 66 of the Women’s Charter (Cap. 353) made against him for the benefit of his wife; or

(e) his wife was living apart from him and proceedings have been commenced for the protection order or expedited order referred to in paragraph (d), and such proceedings have not been terminated or concluded.

According to the association of women for action and research (AWARE), a man who forces his wife to have sex may still be guilty of the offences such as voluntarily causing hurt, grievous hurt, wrongful restraint and sexual penetration.

Now, these nuances will probably mean little to Upworthy or the Internet, and of course, Singapore's laws on marital rape will still gravely affect victims as long as they remain as-is.

Although it's no less important to understand these caveats.

Top image from Upworthy's Facebook post

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