Dowry system in India

DOWRY

 In present India, ‘dowry’ is a word that is not spoken but practised. Dowry is a belief that Indian society has long preserved, that women are a burden on families. The Dowry system reduces the woman’s value to the gold ornaments and money she brings to her husband’s house. We Indians actively follow an outdated tradition of projecting the bride groom’s family as superior to the bride family.

Dowry, also known as trousseau or tocher, is the money, gifts, and property given to women or groom or groom’s family at the time of marriage.

Dowry is a social evil present in every part of society even today and has caused unimaginable torture and crimes towards women and her family.

Dowry System In India

In India, many traditions get followed for ages, some of them were initially started with a concern to make life easier, and one such system is dowry. But now, it has become a problem, a social issue that should get resolved.

In India, almost every family has a girl child, and her marriage is the only dream that her parents dream for her; she is not even allowed to select her husband. Here, marriage is a business that takes place between the family of the bride and the groom.

Dowry is an illegal practice followed in India. It involves paying and accepting money, gold ornaments, and other valuable properties between the families involved in a marriage.

According to the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, dowry means:

• any property or valuable security is given, or
• agreed to be given either directly, or
• indirectly by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage; or
• By either party’s parent to a marriage or
• by any other person,

To either party to the marriage or any other person at or before or any time after the marriage in connection with the marriage of said parties but does not include dower or mahr in the case of persons to whom the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) applies.

Dowry harassment in societies that have dowry customs is an attempt to obtain more money or goods from a wife’s family after the marriage. If the wife's family does not or cannot comply, abuse and torture may follow. The practice is also used to free the husband to marry another, perhaps someone with a larger dowry. Victims can be murdered or driven to suicide by repeated abuse. This issue has been identified and researched primarily in India.

With the opening of India to more Western influences, including consumerism, the gap between the rich and poor has increased. Dowry has degenerated into a means to obtain or augment wealth by the husband or his family, using dowry harassment as a form of extortion. Beatings and psychological torture are common, as are threats of divorce and even kidnapping. The Indian taboo against divorce prevents the women from simply leaving the marriage and they often commit suicide, driven by hopelessness.