Dowry System has been a dominant part of the Indian society. In many parts it is known to be embedded in the culture and has become more of a ritual. This undue custom of the bride’s parents giving away expensive gifts in the form of cash and kind during her wedding started as a way of empowering the women as they began their new life at a completely new place. Initially, cash, jewellery and other such gifts were given to the bride however the sole purpose of the system has deviated over the period of time and the gifts are now given to groom, his parents and relatives. The jewellery, cash and other stuff given to the bride are also kept in safe by her in-laws. A number of factors such as illiteracy, gender inequality and lack of strict laws against this system have given rise to this evil practice.
Dowry system is one of the most heinous social systems in the Indian society. It has also given rise to several issues such as female foeticide, abandoning of girl child, financial problems in the girl’s family, unfair means to earn money, emotional and physical abuse of the daughter-in-law. In order to curb this problem, the government has come up with laws making dowry a punishable act. Here is a detailed look at these laws:
By way of this act a legal system to monitor the give and take of dowry was put in place. As per this act, a penalty is imposed in the event of dowry exchange. The punishment involves a minimum of 5 years of imprisonment and a minimum fine of INR 15,000 or the dowry amount based on whichever is greater. A demand for dowry is equally punishable. Any direct or indirect demand for dowry could lead to 6 months of imprisonment and a fine of INR 10,000.
Many women are abused emotionally and physically for not meeting the dowry demands of their in laws. This law has been put in place in order to empower women against such abuse. It protects women from domestic violence. All forms of abuse including physical, emotional, verbal, economic and sexual are punishable under this law. The punishment for different types and severity of abuse vary.
Despite the laws inflicted by the government, the dowry system still has a strong hold in the society. Here are a few solutions for eradicating this problem:
Lack of education is one of the main contributors to social practices such as dowry system, caste system and child labour. People must be educated to promote logical and reasonable thinking to get rid of belief systems that give rise to such evil practices.
Instead of looking for a well-settled groom for their daughters and investing all their savings in the wedding, people must spend on the latter’s education and make her self-dependent. Women must continue to work even after their marriage and focus their energy on productive things rather than succumbing to the sarcastic remarks of in-laws. Women must also be made aware of their rights and how they can use them to guard themselves from any kind of abuse.
Gender inequality that exists at the core of our society is one of the main reasons for dowry system. From a very early age, children must be taught how both males and females have equal rights and are not superior/ inferior to each other.
Apart from this campaigns should be held to sensitize the issue and the laws set by the government must be made more stringent.
Dowry system is the cause of agony for the girl and her family. The solutions mentioned here must be taken seriously and incorporated in the system to get rid of this problem. The government and general public must join hands to eradicate this system.