Essays

In a patriarchal society such as ours that accords subordinate status to women, the position of a girl child is indeed vulnerable. In case of financial difficulties, it is the girl child whose education is sacrificed in order to manage the household and take care of the younger children at home. The dowry system, deeply rooted in the culture and customs of most communities in India, is a cause of harassment for most women. This has led to a situation where the girl child is treated as a guest in her own home.

Dowry means the demand made by the bridegroom's family from the bride's parents for the payment of money as well as other costly gifts like land, house, clothes and jewels, a condition precedent to the alliance. It is basically a Hindu institution, which is now spreading to other communities. Dowry, in fact, is not a recent development. History is full of examples where daughters have been married off with immense wealth given to them at the time of wedding. Gifts, presents and things given to the daughter in marriage is nothing bad in itself. It is a token of her parents' love and happiness- But when the parents of the groom make demands in order to fulfil their desires at the expense of the bride's family, it becomes not only a legal offence but d moral and ethical one too. When the groom's family tries to extract the expenses made by them on their son's upbringing and education from the bride's family, it takes the shape of dowry. Dowry thus smears the sacred relationship of marriage and converts it into a base, mean and cheap financial deal.

Marriage is about two people who willingly decide to spend the rest of their lives together in love, unity and harmony through thick and thin. It is a union of two hearts, two personalities. But when greedy and hungry wolves try to squeeze monetary benefits out of such a sacred alliance, the sanctity of such an institution is violated. When money-thirsty wolves use wedlock as a tool in their hands to attain money, and go to any length to and satisfy their greed, then marriage is reduced to a business-like deal.

Thus, relationship is valued cheap and is weighed in money. Everyday we hear cases of dowry deaths. Young newly-wed brides are burnt alive because they fail to fill the groom's house with money and goods. We regularly hear of bride's abuse and harassment because the groom's family feels that the dowry given was not enough. Due to this, birth of girl child is considered a burden. A child or foetus is killed as soon as its identity of being a girl is revealed.

The major reason for the existence of dowry system and its atrocities is the lack of women's education- Being trapped in the four walls of the house, even today in a large section of Indian society, the women hardly see and realize the world outside. They remain unaware of their rights. The lack of education also leads to their lack of empowerment. They remain economically dependent on others and fail to be masters of their own life. Another cause of dowry is the rigid caste system prevalent in our society. Parents are offered a restricted choice of boys as they are confined to their own caste. As parents are determined to marry their daughters to a boy of their own caste, they cm- left with restricted choice of suitable boys and thus parents are compelled to subdue to the demands of the groom's family- This ends up like choosing between many evils. Moreover, the tendency of marrying daughters at an early age without paying attention to their education and career, pushes them to a bleak future without any self-confidence and education to fall back upon. The tendency of parents to get a rich boy to marry their daughter off further increases the pressure of dowry on them.

The evil of dowry should be strictly checked before it annihilates our society. Laws should be made more stringent- People should be educated and made aware. Women should be encouraged and educated, so that they become self-reliant. Times are now changing. Educated girls have now taken upon themselves to combat this evil of the society. Girls like Nisha Sharma, Farzana and Vidya Batasubramanium have been courageous enough to call off their weddings at the last moment because of dowry demands; yet a lot needs to be done. On an average, there are over 6000 dowry deaths every year. Growing consumerism has only increased the demand for dowry. It is high time that the society should realize the dignity of a woman, the sacredness and sanctity of marriage and unite to fight against the evil custom of dowry.