Dowry Death In India

Fatima Saint-Vil

What is Dowry?

Dowry or Dahej is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage.

The practice of giving Dowry is very common in the Indian and South Asian cultures.

The Function of Dowry

The family of the bride gives the groom and/or his family dowry to ensure that their daughter will be well taken care of.

Dowry is a form of assurance that the bride will be well treated. If not, it can be revoked.

In the event that the husband dies, the wife will be financially stable through inheritance of the dowry she paid.

The History of Dowry

We can date the history of Dowry as far back as 1700 BC when the Code of Hammurabi was written.

This code stated that in the death of her husband or through divorce, the wife would receive back the Dowry that she paid to him.

Ancient Dowry The initial role of dowry was to financially

provide for the bride because she was moving into a joint family with the groom.

Women were not allowed to work and earn a living outside of the home, so dowry was suppose to serve as her income and her contribution to the home.

A Twist on Dowry

As times have changed, Dowry is now considered a way for a groom and his family to extort money and gifts from the bride and her family.

Families often go broke because they are unable to supply the Dowry to the groom.

Majority of these women come from poor to middle class homes in which their parents save for years in order to provide Dowry to the groom.

Dowry Death

Dowry death is the death of young women either by murder or suicide as a resort of inability to provide more dowry to her husband and his family.

The most common form of dowry death is “bride burning” in which the bride is doused with gasoline or kerosene and set on fire. This is usually done by the groom or his family.

Dowry Death Continued

These women committed suicide by hanging or poisoning because they could no longer endure the harassment and torture they were being subjected to by their in-laws and groom.

In the Name of Dowry

Dowry Deaths Statistics

According to the Indian National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) there were approx. 6787 reported dowry deaths in India in 2005.

The NCRB also reported that there were 2,276 female suicides related to dowry in 2006 which amounts to 6 deaths per day.

Brides Beware

Cartoon in Newspaper

Religious Influences

Hinduism is the predominant religion in India. Giving of Dowry is a tradition and ritual observed in Hindu marriages.

Arranged marriages in India are a common cultural practice.

The Hindu religion states that marriage is a sacred relationship and consist of dharma(obligatory duty) and samskara (sacrament).

The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

In July1961, Indian officials created The Dowry Prohibition Act which prohibits the demand, receipt, or payment of dowry in marriage.

In this act, any gifts viewed as a precondition for marriage were punishable and illegal

Punishment for receiving or giving dowry is imprisonment up to 6 years and/or a fine of 5000 Rupees or the amount of dowry which was paid (whichever is more).

Indian Penal Code Section 304B

In 1986, this penal code was inserted into the Dowry Prohibition Act stating if a woman is burned to death or dies due to(unnatural) bodily injuries within seven years of her marriage this case will be investigated as dowry death.

If it is proven that these women were tortured or harassed soon before her death groom and his family would be considered suspects and/or implicated in the cause of her death(deemed dowry death).

Punishment can range from seven years to life.

Dowry in India Today

Despite the Dowry Prohibition Act and Indian Penal Code(304b) dowry and dowry death are still occurring in India.

Although dowry death maybe investigated convictions are slim to none.

The accused party states that their” beloved bride” is dead as a result of a kitchen fire.

Female Feticide Female feticide is the act of

death on a female fetus Many Indian families are

forced to result to feticide because they cannot afford to pay dowry when their daughter becomes of age to marry.

In the Indian culture ” No dowry, No marriage” is a common term.

If these women did not get married she would be a disgrace to her family and shame their name.

Female Feticide in India

Gender Inequality

Indian Brides and their families are the ones who suffer from the Dowry system

As a result of inability to provide (more) Dowry, they are often killed, harassed, tortured or commit suicide.

The extremely poor to middle class are affected by the Dowry system

The groom and his family benefit from receiving Dowry and may kill the bride in order to remarry and receive dowry from another bride(and her family).

Let’s End Dowry in India

Women Organizations, legal amendments, media support , special police cells for women and protest are all ways people are trying to end the Dowry system in India.

Despite their attempts dowry still continues to be a social norm in the Indian society, thus dowry deaths continue to rise.

Anti -Dowry Organizations

Women Must Take a Stand

Outlook of Dowry in India

Based on what I have learned, it appears that the dowry system in India will continue to be practiced.

Women’s lives will be continue to be jeopardized and in the hands of her groom and his family

Women must make a stand to refuse to pay the dowry and the Indian Government must make every attempt possible to prosecute and investigate every dowry death reported.

References

Ankur, 2006. Dowry death in one of the worlds most dynamic cities. Indian Daily[online] June 29,2006. Available from:

http://www.indiadaily.org/entry/dowry-death-in-one-of-the-worlds-most-dynamic-cities/ [cited 8 May 2009]

Banerji, R., 2007. Roopa is only one of thousands of dowry victims. Flickr[online] September 23.2007. Available from:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rita_banerji/1427495100/

[cited 12 May 2009]

Das,S., 2006. Centre seeks report on Orissa female foeticide issue. Kalinga Times[online] 2006. Available from:

http://kalingatimes.com/orissa_news/news/20070725_female_foeticide_issue.htm

[cited 13May 2009]

Marc. 2009. Dowry :stay away from it. Osocio[online]January 21,2009. Available from:

http://osocio.org/category/woman_issues/

[cited 12 May 2009]

References

2009.Dowry death. Wikipedia[online] March 9, 2009. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry_death [cited 11 May 2009] 2009. Dowry. Wikipedia[online] 2009. May 7, 2009. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry [cited 13 May 2009]

Caleekal, A.,1997. Dowry death.Digitalism[online]Available from: http://digitalism.org/artdoc/ddeath.html [cited 13 May 2009] 2000-2004.Dowry in India. Indianchild [online]2000-2004. Available from: http://www.indianchild.com/dowry_in_india.htm [cited 10 May 2009] 2009. Hinduism. Wikipedia[online] May 11,2009. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism [cited 13 May 2009]

2008. Hammurabi’s code. Biologyonline[online] October 21,2008. Available from: http://www.biology-online.org/articles/medical-laws-ethics-babylon-read/figure.html [cited 13 May 2009]