Dowry System In India

In the social setting of the Indian culture, the dowry system is an influential vice that has created its distinctive space within several communities. With the masses adopting the dowry system, which once served as a matrimonial ceremony, it has now turned into an atrocious practice in society. A gift exchange that once brought harmony between the families of the bride and the groom has now ruthlessly amended itself into a monetary extraction from the bride’s family. Dilapidating into a social evil, this phenomenon has struck and shattered the foundation on which relationships were once built for the families of the bride and the groom. Be it cash, gold, or property rights, the additional financial responsibility is proving to be burdensome on the brides’ families in India.

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  Cash and gold given as dowry by the family of the bride.

Origin and Definition

Originating from the Medieval Latin word, dotarium, dowry has evidently existed for a long time in society. Dowry refers to the cash, property, and valuable goods that the family of the bride gives the groom, and the family of the groom, as a condition for their engagement. Whether it is in cash or kind, the nature of the gifts include, but are not limited to, gold, jewelry, household appliances and items, furniture, and vehicles.

Causes of the Dowry System In India

Social Status

In India, losing a marriage proposal is detrimental to the status of a bride’s family in society. Therefore, regardless of their financial status, they strive to give exceptional gifts as their social status is exposed through these noteworthy offerings.

Greed

The expectation that a dowry will be given at the time of the bride and groom’s engagement is to compensate for the groom’s education, career, and wealth. The bride’s education, career, and wealth are completely disregarded, as she is not given equal societal status to a man. Therefore, the expectations of a dowry can be justified through the influence of greed for material and monetary benefits. Unfortunately, if the demands are not met, either the marriage is called off or the bride experiences dowry-related violence.

Weak Implementation of Anti-Dowry Laws

Over many decades, the Indian government has drafted several legislatures to control and counteract the dowry system. These include The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 and Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005. However, the implementation of such laws is ineffective due to the mass participation in this social vice. Under the veil of a marriage proposal, Indians pay no heed to the anti-dowry laws and surely exploit the dowry system to gain material and monetary benefits. Consequently, the demands are ignorantly made, and the bride’s family suffers at the expense of the masses.

Lack of Education

Being from a segment of society, which is not comprised of highly educated individuals, it is valid to consider that the lack of education is a cause of this evil phenomenon. The bride’s family, unaware and unknowledgeable of the laws and legislations, face outrageous financial ultimatums, which when not met, lead to the mistreatment of their daughters.

Effects of the Dowry System In India

Gender Inequality

The dowry system can be considered the catalyst of gender inequality. According to India’s social structure, it is a common perception that a girl is a liability to her family, with the debt of a dowry in her future. Therefore, as the girl’s family ventures to save for her marriage proposal from a young age, she is restricted from equal opportunities that a male child gets.

Social Effects on Women

The Indian society seemingly judges the worth of a woman on the basis of the dowry that is accepted by her groom and his family. This mindset is absolutely detrimental to the status of a woman in society because it not only ruins her married life, but also her youth. When a girl is born, her birth is no longer an occasion to celebrate because her life has already brought a burdensome debt on the family. She is deprived of basic human rights, such as education, freedom, and speech because she is treated like a second-class citizen in her own country. Unfortunately, this ideal does not end with marriage. As per the dowry ideology, if the demands are not met to the satisfaction of the groom and his family, the woman will be a victim of crimes – emotional and physical abuse, resulting in mental trauma and depression – by the hands of her husband, the culprit.

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  Artwork depicting the dowry-related violence a woman faces if the material and monetary demands are not met.

Economic Effects

Due to these Indian women not being granted equal rights and opportunities as their male counterparts at the domestic level, their growth is being hindered in the socio-economic aspects of the nation, as well. As they are kept from receiving adequate education and choosing a profession before and after marriage, India is losing a substantial part of its human resource, which can supply intellectual and physical means to the workforce.

Solutions

Education

Education could be the primary catalyst of the elimination of the dowry in India. The system likely owes its continuation to lack of education, which leads to negligent decisions and financial exploitation of the bride’s family. The education should reiterate that a gild child is a valued commodity, not a liability; the education to ensure that young families inculcate the strength to reject the dowry system in the future. The mainstream community must be at par with the government’s prospects because the legislation is proving inadequate to bring a revolution; rather, the masses hold the power to eliminate the dowry system by quitting its practice, once they have been educated on the ill, socio-economic effects of the system. This potential annihilation of the dowry, done through education, could bring equal rights and freedoms for women, encouraging gender equality and self-dependence.

Awareness Campaigns

In the modern era, media is the propagator of knowledge and the broadcaster of information interchange. Since the government has been ineffective with implementing change to dowry-related crimes, media campaigns could initiate a movement to encourage the citizens to abide by the formulated rules of the anti-dowry legislatures. This social awareness, created by the media, could prove to be successful in the robust annihilation of the dowry system in India. It is a movement, which cannot be achieved by the government alone; active community participation is a primary prerequisite to convince the masses to abandon the dowry system.