Introduction
Dowry is a widely practiced cultural custom in Indian society. It means the provision of monetary and other benefits including the real estate property by the family of the bride to the bride and groom at the time of marriage. In addition to that gifts are exchanged between the two families. It is also considered as the root cause of India’s gender inequality. Dowry also gives rise to many other social problems like dowry violence, bride burning and wife murder. In Indian society, marriages are still arranged by the families of the bride and groom. In past, the families exchanged gifts to honor each other and generate the feelings of love between the two families.
Evolution
Dowry has evolved in Indian culture over the period of hundreds of centuries. In the past era, the family of bride gave her money and other property to strengthen her position in the family of her in laws and to enhance her status in the society. It was a gesture that the bride has entered the new household with her own wealth and social status. However, now a day, dowry is demanded by the groom’s family from bride’s family to get the couple married and if the bride’s family refuses to give dowry, the marriage is cancelled.
Social Reasons of Dowry
The practice exists in the Indian society due to many reasons. One of them is that the ration of women in the Indian society is greater than the male ratio. Women are considered as a burden for the family and are not given equal rights. As honour of the family is attached with the character of the women of the family, the daughters are not allowed to go out of house, use ornaments and practice their own will. Some families even do not allow their daughters to get education. They think that the girls will bow down to their desires and lower the family honour. Their families want to get rid of them by marrying them early and for this purpose, they even get agree to pay a high amount to the family of groom. The other reason is that the groom’s family considers that they are lowering the burden of a family so they should be acknowledged monetarily and as the economical expenses are to bore by the groom and his family after the marriage, the bride’s family should give them enough money to get settled in their lives.
The practice of dowry was acceptable in the society until both the family have consensus over the monetary value and could afford it. With the passage of time, dowry practices changed when the groom’s family started demanding more than the status of bride’s family and even after marriages bride’s were harassed on the name of dowry by her in laws. In some cases, women are killed as the punishment of bringing fewer dowries. The government of India passed an Act of Dowry Prohibition in 1961 according to which the giver and taker of dowry were called punishable. Even after that, dowry is still practiced in Indian society on a mass level. International organization on protecting human rights need to pay attention to the abolition of this heinous practice in Indian culture.