Essay on The Dowry System in India - Causes & Solution : The system of dowry in our country has become a monstrous evil. The murdering of brides by their husbands and in-laws has become very common in many parts of the country. These persons allege that the brides' parents failed to give the dowry that had been promised by them. To escape punishment they would tell the police that the deaths occurred to the brides as a result of some accidents in the kitchen. Some women unable to put up with disable torturing in the houses of their husbands commit suicide.
Essay on The Dowry System in India - Causes & Solution
The system of dowry in our country has become a monstrous evil. The murdering of brides by their husbands and in-laws has become very common in many parts of the country. These persons allege that the brides' parents failed to give the dowry that had been promised by them.
To escape punishment they would tell the police that the deaths occurred to the brides as a result of some accidents in the kitchen. Some women unable to put up with disable torturing in the houses of their husbands commit suicide.
At first the system served an important purpose. A few decades back Hindu law did use to entitle daughter to the share of the wealth belonging to her parents. It was therefore thought necessary to render some financial assistance to the bridegroom. It helped him to settle down. Then there was no bargaining either by the bridegroom or by his parents.
Now the situation has changed completely in the marriage market bridegrooms are auctioned! The Rich want to get as bridegrooms, doctors, engineers and officers of the all India services. They have enough money take and give as marriage portion large amounts of money or jeweler. But the poor cannot afford this. Countless families are ruined. A man will feel himself cursed and certainly burdened if he has too many daughters.
Very often the avarice for a big dowry makes even a highly educated young man marry a girl who is no match for him in intellectual accomplishments. The bridegroom may be an M.R.C.P or F.R.C.S. The bride may be one who has completed school education, but she is the daughter of plutocrat.
If such a girl is married by a highly educated young man, he will have difficulty in getting proper contentment in his married life. This is due to the intellectual incompatibility existing between the husband and the wife. Money alone does not help to create happiness in life. Further, the young man parents may not feel at home in the company of his in-laws who live in luxury.
The system of dowry is responsible for discrimination against girls. Several parents consider them burdens. They are not given proper education. Nor are they properly fed. For many village girls life has miserable. Very often the task of looking after the younger children is given to them. Further, they have to toil and moil in the kitchens.
What are the causes of the system existing in our country?
The first and foremost is the greed of man for money. A man who has no money is considered inferior. A large number of the women in our country are such illiterate women have difficulty in getting any job. To improve their position, it is absolutely necessary to give proper education to them. Thus they can be made aware of their rights.
After receiving education, they should try to, employment which will help them to live without depending on others. An employed girl can easily enter into married life, but an unemployed girl is often left in the lurch. If no dowry is given, she will be constrained to remain as a spinster. A few years ago four sisters in a family in Kanpur committed suicide since their father had no money to give as dowry. Such suicides are increasing.
How can we do away with the system of dowry existing in our country?
Social organizations, social workers and the Press must create strong public opinion against this evil. Young men who are financially very poor should enter into married life only when they are financially sound to look after their wives. They must realize that it is disgraceful to live on the dowry given by their fathers-in-law. Effort must also be made by the Government to improve the financial position of the poor.
Those who make others commit suicide must be given capital punishment.
Now the giving and receiving dowry is punishable. The amended Dowry Prohibition Act came into force on October 2, 1985, Gandhi Jayanti Day. There are several loop holes in this Act. For instance, the demand for dowry after a marriage does not or under the purview of this Act.
We agree that "dowry is deplorable because it can lead to impoverishment, humiliation and, as we shall see, to violence, misery and murder. The tradition, however, is unlikely to be shaken quickly because enough people at to retain it or can see no way out of it —Trevor Fish lock
Gandhi ji once said that “any man who makes dowry a condition for marriage discredits his education and his country and dishonors womanhood. Young men who soil their fingers with such ill-gotten greed should be excommunicated from society”. But who has considered seriously this view of the Mahatma, The greater the qualification of the bridegroom, the larger the dowry. This is what we notice in our country.
The laws passed by Parliament for the welfare of the women in our country are not properly implemented. We cannot brook the callous indifference and apathy shown by the authorities in this.
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