Dowry system is followed in India since a very long time. Our ancestors started this system for valid reasons but now it is leading to issues and problems in society. In this essay on dowry, we will see what dowry exactly is, how it started, and why it should be stopped now.
The new dowry system is creating problems in society. Poor parents do not get any groom who will marry their daughter without taking dowry. They have to take “Marriage Loans” to get their daughter married.
Dowry is becoming a nightmare for Women. The cases of infanticide are increasing. Poor parents do not have any other option. They cannot afford to have a girl child, and hence they are intentionally killing infant girl. More than 8000 women are killed because of Dowry!
It is very clear that Dowry is creating violence. Groom’s parents are misusing this pure tradition. And they are not aware that they are misusing it, because they are not educated about the traditional dowry system. Everyone is just following the new dowry system blindly.
Dowry is complete injustice with women and does not give women equal status in society. Because of dowry men will always be superior to women. This is creating a mess and negative environment in society.
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride’s family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment by the groom, or his family, to the bride, or her family, dowry is the wealth transferred from the bride, or her family, to the groom, or his family. Similarly, dower is the property settled on the bride herself, by the groom at the time of marriage, and which remains under her ownership and control.
Dowry is an ancient custom, and its existence may well predate records of it. Dowries continue to be expected and demanded as a condition to accept a marriage proposal in some parts of the world, mainly in parts of Asia, Northern Africa and the Balkans.
Article 3 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 specifies that the penalty for giving or taking dowry does not apply to presents that are given at the time of a marriage to the bride or groom is when no demand for them has been made.
Although Indian laws against dowries have been in effect for decades, they have been largely criticized as being ineffective. The practice of dowry deaths and murders continues to take place unchecked in many parts of India, which has further added to the concerns of enforcement.
In western culture, dowries are mostly a thing of the past. Why? Well, marriages today are rarely an arranged contract between two families. Instead, people marry for love! As arranged, formal marriages have gone the way of the dodo, so has the need for dowries and bride prices.
However, this isn’t true the world over. Despite dowries having been illegal in India since 1961, for example, they are still quite commonplace because Indian society still practices arranged marriages.
Over time, it became common practice for families to exploit the dowry system all over the world in some cases. What was meant to be a gift and promise of security from one partner to another soon became a financial demand that resulted in broken engagements or divorce, violence, and even death for unpaid dowries. It is for this reason that countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Greece, and Kenya passed laws making dowries illegal in any capacity.
Dowry is demanded as though it is fundamental right of the bridegroom. Violence against women who bring less dowry or no dowry includes-physical battering, emotional neglect, torture, verbal abuse, refusal of sufficient food, imposition of heavy physical work and so on.
Demands for dowry have even caused dowry death. For every 17 minutes one dowry death occurs in our society. Further some girls, who remain unmarried due to dowry system, take decision to carry on illegal sexual relations in order to satisfy their sexual urge and there by pollute the whole society.
It is very clear that Dowry is creating violence. Groom’s parents are misusing this pure tradition. And they are not aware that they are misusing it, because they are not educated about the traditional dowry system. Everyone is just following the new dowry system blindly.
Dowry is complete injustice with women and does not give women equal status in society. Because of dowry men will always be superior to women. This is creating a mess and negative environment in society.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
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