HIGHLIGHTS

 Data reveals that police have chargesheeted around 93.7 per cent of the accused.

 But only 34.7 per cent have been convicted.

 The remaining cases are still pending in various courts.

Twenty-one dowry deaths are reported across the country every day, but the conviction rate is
only 34.7 per cent.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that in 2015, as many as 7,634 women died
in the country due to dowry harassment. Either they were burnt alive or forced to commit suicide
over dowry demand.
Data further reveals that after registration of dowry deaths, police have chargesheeted around
93.7 per cent of the accused, of which only 34.7 per cent have been convicted. The remaining
cases are still pending in various courts.
According to Delhi Police, till March 15 this year, 31 women died due to dowry harassment.
In the last five years, as many as 715 cases of dowry deaths have been reported in the national
Capital and the crime rate have been increasing with every passing year.
Moreover, in Delhi, around 3,877 cases of cruelty by in-laws and husbands have been registered
in 2016. Till March 15 this year, as many as 506 such cases have been reported in the city. The
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, prohibits the request, payment or acceptance of a dowry 'as
consideration for marriage', and dowry here is defined as a gift demanded or given as a
precondition for marriage.
'EXISTING LAW HAS CERTAIN LOOPHOLES'
Experts say that the existing law has certain loopholes and needs to be made stricter. Despite
amendments made to the Dowry Act in 1983, the desired results are yet desired to be achieved.
Improper investigations at the initial stage of a case slow down the process of judicial
proceedings, experts rue.
Items such as jewellery, clothes, cars and money are traditionally given by the bride's family to
the groom and his parents under the outlawed custom to ensure that she is taken care of in her
new home.
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But often the groom's family demands more dowry after marriage, resulting in mental and
physical harassment that can lead to suicide or murder of the bride. Dowry has not only turned
out to be a bane for women, but even for their families, who often find it hard to arrange the
money.1

20 Women Die A Day: Dowry Deaths Still A Threatening Reality In

India?

 APRIL 21, 2020 

 BY RUDRANI GUPTA

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Follow On  News  Follow On

A young 27 year old PhD scholar committed suicide because her in-laws were not okay with her
continuing studies. A flight attendant Anissa Batra who jumped off her terrace, her parents say,
was tortured emotionally for dowry. India has an alarming trend that sees 20 women die
every day as a result of harassment over a dowry – either murdered, or compelled to
commit suicide. Why is the dowry system still a threatening reality? Why do we value a
woman’s life around the amount of gold she brings in dowry?  Questions like these need to be
raised again and again.

National Crime Bureau of India, as recently as 2017, recorded nearly 7000 dowry linked
deaths. Dowry deaths rose from about 19 per day in 2001 to 21 per day in 2016. And we are yet
talking about reported dowry deaths here. There are many that go unreported. Taking or giving
dowry has been criminalized by law as early as 1961. But,  it is still a significant part of Indian
marriage and is openly defying laws and failing women empowerment.

The brutal reality of the dowry system is not the story of rural areas only. Even the educated
family sitting in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Bangalore is harassing a woman for not
bringing enough gold or money. Not more than 16 days of the year 2020 had passed,
Bengaluru, the silicon valley of India, reported 17 cases of abuse and death of women for dowry
as mentioned in The New Indian Express.  Going by this 2020 could be the worst for the plight
of women due to dowry system, when is the end?

Also Read: India Domestic Violence Helpline Numbers During the Lockdown

1
https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/dowry-deaths-national-crime-records-bureau-conviction-rate-
972874-2017-04-22
What’s this dowry system all about?
Dowry system makes it necessary for a bride’s family to give dowry in cash or kind to the
groom’s family as a pre-condition for marriage. After marriage, some families demand more
dowry and when it is not fulfilled- either because of the inability of the bride’s family or the denial
of the bride herself- the groom and his family abuse and kill the bride. In one of the cases
reported in Bengaluru in January 2020, a few weeks after marriage, a husband demanded cash
despite receiving 1kg gold in dowry as per his demands. When the extra demand was denied,
he burnt his wife.

In some cases, to escape the punishment by law, the husband and his family do not kill the
woman directly but harass her mentally and physically forcing her to commit suicide.  A similar
case was reported in Kerala last year when a 27-year-old woman was starved to death by her
in-laws because their demand of two lakhs in dowry was not met.

Also Read: BSF Constable Rejects Dowry, Said Bride’s Education More Valuable

Why The Dowry System Is Still Prevalent

We are in 2020. Dowry system was abolished in 1961 in India. The reason for the prevalence of
this custom is the patriarchal society that values men over women. In India boys have a rate
card in many societies. This is the unofficial price the boy is worth. And that worth is measured
by the amount of dowry a boy will get upon marriage. The stronghold of the gender inequality in
Indian society makes a bride’s family feel obliged to meet the dowry demands of the man who
has ‘agreed’ to take care of the daughter. The second major reason is that the dowry system is
too deeply rooted in the Indian culture that it is seen as normal and unchangeable. Even today,
if people are reminded that dowry is a crime, they ignore it as an alternate reality which cannot
change the age-old customs. Many educated families practice it, willingly or unwillingly, to avoid
being criticized for not following the customs. After all who will dare to change the traditions?
The third and most important reason is the dominance of the institution of marriage. A woman’s
marriage is of the paramount importance in Indian families. If a woman’s marriage requires
dowry in return of her secured married life which is a challenge in the world that is unsafe and
discriminatory for women, it is never seen as a crime.

Dowry deaths are a result of this stagnancy in the traditions and cultures. Groom’s families take
advantage of the stronghold of the dowry system which will ultimately bring them wealth. Often
they ‘rightfully’ abandon or abuse the woman for dowry because she and her family did not fulfil
their duty. This is a harsh reality that still haunts the lives of the women who are moving ahead
towards a respectable, empowered and independent future. This system is the major reason
why daughters are considered as a burden for the families. Consequently, families either keep
the wealth aside for the daughter’s dowry rather than investing in her education or kill her before
birth to get rid of the burden forever. How far will women bear the weight of patriarchal traditions
like these? How and when will the change begin? SheThePeople asked the same question to
some young women, here is how they will bring the change:

Also Read: Is Happy Marriage All About Listening To Your Husband?

How Young Women Are Determined To Bring A Change

Avleen, 19-year-old and a student of English Honours, told SheThePeople that a marriage
founded on the exchange of dowry is only a business deal. She believes that marriage truly
needs love and respect. “If a boy cannot marry me without my money, I don’t need him. I am
more capable of doing business with my own money.” She further talked about how she will
convince her family to not seek dowry for her brother’s marriage. “I would tell them not to seek
dowry because we don’t need money to keep someone else’s girl. If we like her and my brother
likes her, then that love is enough for the marriage. “

Drawing on a similar line, Ayushi, 19-year-old and student of Economics Honours said, “I will
bring a change in the prevalence of the dowry system by being self-dependent and refusing to
marry anyone who needs money to marry me.”

Dowry system gets an open passage in the society despite being a crime because no one dares
to take legal action against the families. Divya Rawat, 18, student of Economics Honours says,
“Taking legal actions against my family if it partakes the tradition will be a harsh decision. So I
will ask them..does dowry assure them that their daughter will be happy in future? By doing this,
aren’t they contributing to the already existing gender inequality?” She further said, “But, if the
groom’s family is pressurizing for dowry, then there is a need to take  legal action against them.”
Moreover, Divya stressed on the need of organizing more workshops and discussions on this
issue so that its seriousness is realized.

According to NCRB reports on an average, every hour a woman succumbs to dowry deaths in
India with the annual figure rising upwards of 7000. No matter how many PhDs a woman earns,
her identity and the right to live is decided according to the kilos of gold, cash, latest vehicles
and appliances she brings in dowry for her in-laws. If you are reading this article, share it widely
so we can push for conversations that question this and helps us all change the system.2

2
https://www.shethepeople.tv/top-stories/opinion/dowry-deaths-reality-in-india-but-until-when/