DOWRY

"Men and women are equal and play an important role in building and improving their families, especially in society as a whole." --- J Krishna Murthy

This sentence appeared in every social textbook I remember from my childhood: "Dowry is a bad thing in society." It was often discussed in connection with the sati, the widow's custom of immersing oneself in the fire of her husband as an act of commitment. Sati, for the most part, is a remnant of the past. It became widely known as a vicious cycle that needed to be abolished. However, dowry is not one of them. When it comes to dowry, the principle of "social evil" is always "social necessity”.

India is a large and diverse region. Since the beginning of our society, Indian culture has become the oldest in the world, each era adopting a new social order. India has come a long way in terms of growth ideas in all sectors of society, second only to China in terms of population. In India, Women in culture are portrayed as supernatural by nature in many cultural terms. Women are the majority of the population. Durga, Kali, Sarawati, and Lakshmi are some of the goddesses that have been worshiped throughout history. By changing the situation. Over the years, attitudes toward women have changed dramatically.

In the Vedic Civilization and the Indus Valley, women played the part of Goddesses. It's incredible how women's Goddess status has been reduced to just one thing. Each century, on the other hand, has its own distinct characteristics. The new philosophy, too, has its own ideology. Feminism is a term often misunderstood by both men and women. Gender has become a major tool used by women and family members against men. Women used to be raped and even murdered in the name of dowry, but that hasn't been the case in a long time. We've gotten to the point that wives are filing fictitious dowry charges against their husbands in order to carry out their evil schemes. She was a society builder as well as a house builder. Women, on the other hand, are portrayed as having a low social status in some ancient scriptures, such as Manushashtra.

Its origins in India trace back to the middle ages, when the bride’s family would give her a gift of money or kindness to secure her independence after marriage. During the colonial period, it was the only legal form of marriage, with the English insisting on dowry. India's latest trend, with its booming economy, is to promote higher prices for all economic groups. The rising cost of brides, on the other hand, has led to an increase in violence against women. The practice of dowry has been around for decades, and has led to many myths of violence, abuse and humiliation of brides before and after marriage, both reported and unexplained.

According to section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, dowry is defined as "property brought by a woman to her husband at the time of marriage," which includes land, various properties, and valuable securities given or agreed to be given directly or indirectly at the time of marriage. The word dowry does not refer to the repayment of wedding costs. The husband and members of his family are liable to the provision of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code if they commit an act of sexual harassment within seven years of marriage. Under this system, the case is no longer available and no longer included. These regulations fully support women and have very little previous confirmation in the event of a complaint under these laws, allowing certain groups of women to use these provisions to pursue their evil intentions.

In order to pay the bride-price to the bride's family, the husband or in-laws often resort to violence. While the dowry paid during the wedding will be greater, the greed of husbands and in-laws may increase after the wedding. As a result, the bride is often exposed to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. Harassment varies by cutting the genitals or breasts with razors and throwing paraffin in it and burning it alive. Women are often forced to kill themselves.

The Government of India has introduced various provisions and regulations relating to dowry with the aim of protecting women from social ills in the community between sections 304-B ​​and 498-A of the Indian Penal Code and sections 113-A and 113- B of the Indian Evidence Act dealing directly with women.

According to Section 304-B ​​of the Indian Penal Code, if a woman dies from burns or physical injuries, or without normal circumstances, within seven years of marriage, and it is shown that she was brutally treated or abused by her husband or any of her husband's relatives, or in any case demand for dowry, such a death will be termed "dowry death," and such a husband or relative shall be deemed to be responsible for her death, and anyone committing a dowry death shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not less than seven years and may extend to life imprisonment.

According to Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, any person who takes or seduces any woman and knows or has reason to believe that she is the wife of any other man, from that man, or any other person who takes care of her in that man's name, with intent to engage in illicit sex any person, or hiding or keeping such a woman, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of any kind, up to two years, to a fine, or to both.

In terms of Section 113-A of the IEA, where the question is whether a woman's suicide was assisted by her husband or any of her husband's relatives, and it is shown that she committed suicide within seven years of marriage and that her husband or someone else her husband's relative abused her, the Court may consider In this situation, her partner or a relative of her husband helped her commit suicide.

In terms of Section 113-B of the IEA, where the question is whether a person has committed the loss of dowry to a woman and it is shown that the woman was brutally treated or abused by that person shortly before her death, or about the need for a dose, the Court will determine that person caused the death.

Case Study

It was held in Prahallad Budek v. State of Orissa that there must be a live connection between the woman's death and the abuse and brutality she faced in relation to dowry demand, and that if there isn't, the offence of Section 304 – B of the I.P.C. cannot be founded .In the case Baldev Singh v. State of Punjab it was also stated that the time span between the cruelty and abuse and the woman's death should not be too long.

In the case of Sham Lal v. State of Haryana, it was held that if there is no proof of abuse and cruelty soon before her death, the husband cannot be prosecuted under section 304 – B of the IPC and section 113 – B of the I.E.A.

Although there are laws and practices to prevent misconduct against women, there are many instances where women are misused the arrangements and rules by which they can lie to their husbands and in-laws to retaliate or to insult them.

More than 8,000 women die each year as a result of the Indian dowry system. Her husband or in-laws could kill her if her family could not collect the promised dowry. Most women commit suicide as a result of dowry-related abuse and exploitation. To avoid bigotry, some families marry while their daughters are still young. Today, more than 700 million people under the age of 18 are married. That number is expected to rise to 1.2 billion by 2050, according to the antitrust organization Girls Not Brides.

The country with the most child brides is India, which is partially motivated by the culture of the dowry. Families marry their daughters at an early age to save money because the price of a girl's dowry often goes down when she is young. As the prices go up every year during the extra year of formal education, families keep girls out of school so that prices can go down. Paying school fees for a girl is often seen as a waste of money by many families because they will never be reimbursed for life. In addition, as part of their training to become better housewives, girls are often left at home to do household chores.

The dowry scheme undermines women's dignity by treating them as property - things that can be sold. To make matters worse, the program considers them to be debt rather than a divisive benefit - the bride's family owes the groom's family the cost of caring for the bride. As a result, every paid dowry contributes to the continuation of a society that sees women as second-class citizens.