Dowry System in India Eassy
Friends, we all know that marriage is an important part of society. It is a source of happiness and celebration and at the same time it is also a new beginning. But still one of the longest lasting evils associated with marriage in Indian society is the dowry system. This is a social evil that every citizen is fighting till today. And every person needs to create awareness in the family, communities and society at large to fight it. Hence, continuous and careful action taken against the people who support this practice will help in getting rid of this evil gradually. Its detailed information is given in this article.
What is dowry?
Dowry is money demanded from the bride's parents and family by the groom's parents and family members before, during or after the marriage. This is sought through a third party. It can include any kind of things like money, property, jewellery, vehicles, furniture, tools, clothes etc. Which is requested by the family members of the bride and asked by her in-laws. In other words, any demand made by the bridegroom or his family, which includes direct or indirect deals in relation to marriage, is treated as dowry.
History and Origine
The dowry system is believed to have originated in the Vedic period, beginning as a ceremonial ritual in the institutions of marriage. That's why it is said that it has been going on for centuries. In fact, in ancient times, kings used to bid farewell to their daughters with some gifts, so that their daughters could live comfortably in their in-laws' house. After this, when the British ruled India, they made a law for women that they were prohibited from owning any property, thus the entire property given to them went to their husband and their in-laws. Then gradually it became a custom. Where the groom and his family members started demanding it from the bride's family and it spread in a big way all over the world especially in India. In this way it has become a serious problem of the country. It is more prevalent among many cultures in countries of South Asia and mainly among religions such as Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Muslims.
Cause Dowry System in India
Some of the reasons for this evil of the society are as follows –
Greed- The biggest reason for demanding dowry is greed. Due to greed, the groom and his family demand from the bride's family as a deal during the marriage. And expect it to be done in secret. And its demand is made even before the daughter's farewell, due to which the daughter's family is forced to accept it.
Social Structure- There is such a feeling in the society that sons are considered to be much better than daughters. It is believed that women are second class citizens. They are supposed to play only domestic roles. People believe that women are a burden on their father before marriage and later on their husband, so after marriage the girl's father has to pay compensation to the girl's husband. This feeling is moving forward in the form of dowry system.
Religious dictatorship- Religious dictatorship is also one of the main reasons for the dowry system. The religious dictatorship practiced by the society over marriage traditions has a very high inclination towards the problem of dowry. It is mostly seen in marriages between people of the same religion. Due to this, it is considered necessary to marry within the circle of society. Also if the qualifications of the marriageable boy are much better, then a prize becomes the one who made the highest bid for it, the marriage is settled with him.
Social Barriers- Apart from similar religious background, barriers also arise on the basis of caste system and social status. It is often seen in inter-caste weddings. The people of the groom's house want to do all the rituals according to their religion. Which the bride's family has to accept forcibly. Even if they make any kind of demand for it.
Social status of women- The social status of women in India is also a reason for dowry where women are treated as equals in the society, they are forced to do any work without any question. And it is not only done by men but also by women on other women.
Illiteracy- One of the main reasons for promoting the dowry system is the lack of formal education. A large number of women are deliberately kept away from schools. The reason for this is either people's superstition or they believe that if girls become more educated, then their eligibility to become a good wife will be reduced.
Show off- Dowry is often a means of showing social status in our country. It is often seen in the society that how much is spent in the marriage of the daughter and how much gold is given to them. It is this sense of pretense that justifies the demand for dowry to a great extent.
Effects Dowry System in India
The groom's family goes to any extent to get more wealth from the bride's family. For this they do not back down to commit violence. This has a bad effect on the bride and also on the family of the bride, as they have to fulfill all the demands of her in-laws to protect their daughter. The dowry system has an impact on the society and people in the following ways:
Injustice towards women- Dowry is a big financial obligation for the bride's family. Girls are often considered less than boys, for them the education of boys is more important, the education of girls is of no importance to them. Therefore, at an early age, they are asked to learn household chores, and they are married. Even the practice of child marriage is still going on in the country. The amount of dowry increases according to the age of the girl. All these injustices happen to women.
Violence against women- Cruelty committed on a woman for the purpose of forcing her to satisfy a demand for property or something, is a form of the offense of dowry. If the demand for dowry is not met by the family members of the bride then abuses such as domestic violence, burning, torture, physical, emotional, economic and sexual violence as well as intimidation and coercion of women can be done to them. are done together. Such cruelty on them sometimes compels them to commit suicide. The figures of 2016 show that 20 women die every day in India due to dowry related issues.
Financial burden- The demand made by the groom's family for dowry, many times it happens that the bride's family is not able to fulfill it. They have to borrow from people to meet this demand. Thus there is a deep economic impact on them for the marriage of the daughter.
Gender imbalance- Due to the discrimination being done between girls and boys, practices like female feticide or girl infanticide arise. The effect of which is that the proportion of girls in the society is continuously decreasing. These practices are most prevalent in states like Haryana and Rajasthan. That's why it has more effect there.
Lack of self-respect in women- In our country for centuries, a harsh attitude towards women has been experienced. This means that if you are a woman, it is very difficult for you to maintain a high level of self-esteem here. Therefore women start considering themselves as incapable of any contribution to this society.
Status of women- Behavior like dowry is a social evil. And the social status of women in India is a major obstacle in the direction of improvement in the country. Dowry demands repeatedly affect women's dexterity.
How can it be stopped?
Conservative policies like dowry system can also be ended by adopting the following methods –
Empowering women- It happens many times that women who suffer cruelty do not share their pain with anyone nor do they raise their voice against it. Due to which the people who commit such crimes easily roam freely. Even the laws made for them have no effect on them. But it is very important to make women aware about it. They will have to fight for themselves, then only such crimes will come down.
Educating the students for this- The campaign against the system of dowry requires concerted and continuous efforts. For this, it should start with schools and colleges, in which the student community should be properly educated against the evils of the dowry system. And they should explain that they do not have to do dowry transactions with their potential spouse.
Promoting Love Marriage- While promoting love marriage will help in ending the caste system, on the other hand it will also help in throwing the practice like dowry in the dustbin.
Spreading awareness- By organizing legal aid camps and counseling the victims, the message of ending the dowry system can be spread. Along with this, there is also a need to spread awareness against this dowry system among the general public.
There should be disagreement in giving or taking dowry- In order to remove the basic reason for the existence and continuity of dowry system, the parents and family members of the bride and groom should take a pledge that they will absolutely disagree with the transaction of dowry and No one will compromise, no matter how long their daughter remains unmarried.
In these ways it will be very easy to stop the dowry system, and it will also be easy to uproot it.
Basic Law info
The evils of the dowry system were felt on a large scale in early 1939 due to the laws made by the British in India. There was no law to stop the widely prevalent dowry system at that time. But after independence, the Indian government implemented laws to empower women in India. Then one after the other, many laws have been implemented against those who do dowry transactions or those who try it, which are as follows –
The law which was implemented by the British before independence that women should not have the right to own any property. It was removed immediately after independence.
Indian Penal Code– 498A – IPC – 498A is a criminal law, which was passed by the Indian Parliament in 1983. According to this law, an offender committing cruelty to a woman for taking dowry is punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or more.
Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961- The 1961 Act banned the taking and giving of dowry in many states. If anyone does this, they are punished. As a punishment, they are punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to a fine of not less than Rs 15,000 or the amount of dowry demanded.
Domestic Violence Act, 2005- Protection of women: - A law like protection of women has been introduced from the Domestic Violence Act 2005, which helps to reduce domestic violence and protect the rights of women. This act is a civil law. It is not designed to criminalize or punish individuals but to protect women from domestic abuse caused by their husbands or in-laws.
Section 113A- Section 113A added to the Indian Evidence Act is a law, under which if the girl commits suicide for any reason within 7 years from the date of marriage, then the case against the girl's household, her husband and his family. can enter.
This is one of the biggest dangers of Indian society. This fact is being condemned by all the citizens of today's time in the country. But still this practice is widespread in our society. So it is very necessary for us to stop it and fight against it.
