Reet Uncooked

DOWRY. When you hear this five-lettered word, what comes to your mind?

Domestic violence, death, oppression, worriedness, money, unhappiness, and many such adjectives would come to your mind, wouldn’t they? Well, these adjectives come to my mind as well.

But do you know that dowry wasn’t meant to be painful? Yes! You read it right. Dowry wasn’t initiated as a torturous practice. In the Pre-Colonial period, Dowry was an institution for women, to signify their status and independence and to have their emergency resources. The parents of the bride gave all of her part of the wealth in the form of valuable gifts, just as they gave to their sons, during her marriage. What is important to notice here is that the wealth was given to the bride and not to the groom. The groom’s family had no right of claim on the wealth. This gave the women their financial freedom who utilized the wealth when needed.

During the earlier days of British rule, the French Catholic missionary Jean Antoine Dubois who visited India in 1792, praised the status of Hindu women. He says that women “have a say in the affairs of the state, have distinct provision and estate of their own, enjoy as much as liberty they desire.”

Now, how did this thoughtful and non-painful ritual turn into the practice that we see today which is tough on brides, and from a few years has become tough for the groom’s side too?

After the Permanent Settlement of Bengal in the year 1793 under Lord Cornwallis, the zamindari system came into effect. Due to this the peasants had to suffer and were completely under the leniency of the zamindars. This wasn’t the move that snatched the freedom of women. The British government passed a rule that banned women from possessing any property. Till this time, parents gave away wealth and valuable gifts to daughters during their matrimonial ceremony, and the bride continued its use and was financially independent.

But after the implementation of this rule, the system took a turn, and now the wealth which was supposed to belong to the girl now belongs to the husband. This kicked off the greed in the groom and his family, and the thoughtful ritual turned into jeopardy. Marriage was turned into a business that had a wealthy and unprotesting bride clause. The groom and his family found it an easier mode of earning money and property, which led to the male child getting considered an extra source of income as his bride would get a hefty amount of dowry and a female child getting considered a financial burden as it would be a matter of concern arranging money and wealth for her dowry. This leads to female foeticide and a disproportionate male child- female child ratio.

DOWRY- AN ISSUE FOR SOCIETY

-> DOWRY DEATH

Dowry’s death is one of the many violence against women. These are the deaths of married women, who are either killed or forced to commit suicide after prolonged harassment by their husband and his family, over the matter of dowry brought or not brought by her during the marriage. These cases are filed predominantly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran.

INDIA:

It is the climax of the series of domestic harassment and torture, and the girl commits suicide by either hanging, intake poison, or burning herself. In some cases, the in-laws and husband even kill the wife by burning her or beating her to death and mask it as an accident or suicide. Death by getting burnt is the most common of them all.

By far, India is at the top in the statistics of dowry deaths worldwide according to Indian National Crime Record Bureau. In the year 2020, the dowry death cases reported were approximately 6966, which shows a decrease in cases according to 2014, when 8455 cases were reported.

PAKISTAN:

Pakistan has been seeing an increase in dowry deaths for decades. With over 2000 dowry-related demises per year, and annual rates crossing 2.45 deaths per 100000 women from dowry violence, Pakistan has the highest reported number of dowry death rates per 100000 women globally.

Some resources have reported that government officials don’t record dowry deaths, and thus the death rates could be significantly higher.

BANGLADESH:

In 2013, Bangladesh reported 4470 women succumbed to dowry violence over 10 months, and 7.2 brides per year per 100000 women became a victim of dowry violence in Bangladesh. The method of death includes suicide, fire hazards, and other brutal forms of violence.

-> LOSS OF SELF IDENTITY OF A WORKING WOMAN

Dowry isn’t that big a matter of concern for those women who are less educated and are housewives. An educated woman with a 9–5 job could also become a victim of dowry violence. During the initial phase of rituals of marriage, the groom’s side term it as ‘basic commodities for a new life, but later on slowly the demands increase, and predominantly the mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law (husband’s sister) control the dowry. Either half of it is used in the marriage of younger daughters or exhausted in their personal use. If in case, the bride doesn’t get any dowry from her family, then her salary is confiscated under the mask of ‘contribution to family expenditure’. The bride has to ask the mother-in-law for money when required and has to give the details of expenditure too.

Parents give education to their daughters and encourage them to get a job so that they are financially independent and could make decisions of their own. But post marriage, directly or indirectly some in-laws, make the daughter-in-law financially dependent on the son and crumble her self-existence as even after being a working woman, she has to still ask her husband or in-laws for money and has to give validation about her expenses.

-> A MATTER OF PRIDE

Dowry has always been a matter of pride. During earlier years, it was a matter of pride for the groom and his family, as they are materializing their son for money, jewelry, and other luxuries. They see the daughter-in-law joining their family, as the return of their investment on their son from the moment he was born to the moment he is getting married. And their pride was also induced by the bride’s family, as they would quietly comply with all demands.

But now, it is a matter of pride for the bride and her family as well. Now, the bride proudly flaunts the amount of dowry given, in wedding her off. The more money spent and given to her, the richer groom she gets for herself. But in this process, the parents put the self-respect of their daughter at stake. They give a message to the society that compatibility and emotions aren’t the foundation of their daughter’s marriage, rather money and wealth are.

Both bride and groom turn their marriage into a trophy that they won by investing money and getting money in return. In simpler words, a girl and a boy are buying prospective matches for themselves.

-> FADING ESSENCE OF MARRIAGE

Marriage has a place for love, trust, companionship, togetherness, respect, and commitment. It is a beautiful bond between two people, and it’s their responsibility to keep the relationship intact and live a happy and prosperous life. But the existence of dowry in the relationship does the work of a few drops of lemon in milk. The milk turns sour and curdles. Similarly, the marriage turns sour and the healthy relationship starts to feel suffocating.

Yes, surely money can buy luxury but money can’t buy happiness and peace. You need happiness and peace for a healthy marriage, not money. When the exchange of money and wealth gets involved in the relationship, the concentration of the spouse shifts towards it solely. One thinks of how to get more money and the other thinks about how to arrange more money. And this creates distance between the two individuals. The tension comes in, and clashes of opinions and lifestyles take place. As a result, either domestic violence takes place or separation.

LEGAL STEPS TAKEN AGAINST DOWRY SYSTEM

- HINDU PERSONAL LAW: The prohibition on possession of any property for women, continued till 1956. In 1956, Hindu Personal Law was amended which gave the right to women to inherit the property of their parents. But this didn’t give equal possession to her. The share of a son was his independent one, whereas a daughter’s share was based on the share received by the father. Here, a father, with his wish, can disown his daughter to not share the property with the daughter. Adding to that, after marriage and facing harassment and torture, she had no residential right in her home. Leaving her helpless and sometimes homeless too!

In 2005, the Hindu Personal Law got amended once more, where it gave equal rights to women as her brother on her ancestral property and wealth.

- DOWRY PROHIBITION ACT, 1961: This legislation provides a penalty under section 3, to any person giving, taking, or encouraging the exchange of dowry. The punishment includes imprisonment for a minimum of five years and a fine of more than 15,000 INR or the amount of dowry received (whichever is the maximum). The penalty doesn’t apply to the gifts given at the time of marriage (those given without demand).

Agreements of dowry are null and void from the beginning, and if any dowry is collected by anyone other than the bride, needs to be

reverted to the bride. The headache should be of the accused and not of the victim or her family, of providing proof of innocence. The Government of India, under its power of framing rules to carry out objectives under the Act, has framed Maintenance of Lists of Presents to the Bride and the Bridegroom Rules, 1985.

- CRIMINAL STATUTES: The Indian criminal laws have been amended to include ‘dowry’ as a punishable offense. And has included many sections like

● 304B has considered dowry death an offense that is punishable and has set a sentence of a minimum of 7 years and a maximum of life imprisonment. According to this section, if the evidence is found of death due to cruelty towards the woman within the first seven years of marriage, or any harassment by the husband and his family due to demand of dowry, then the husband and his family are accused to have caused her demise.

● Section 113B of the Evidence Act, 1872 creates an additional front of dowry death when the evidence shows that the woman was subject to brutal torture before her demise due to dowry demand. Section 304B along with section 113B of the Evidence Act has sentenced many accused who easily fled under Dowry Prohibition Act 1961.

● Section 113A of the Evidence Act, 1872 provided a front to the encouragement of suicide which is an offense under section 306 IPC, in the case of death of a married woman within the initial seven years of her marriage. The judiciary adding to this has included a murder charge under this section, that gives the court the right to impose the death penalty on the accused of the offense.

● Section 406 IPC, prevailing to offenses of a violation of trust, applies in cases of recovery of dowry as it is for the benefit of the woman and her children.

STATISTICS OF DOWRY CASES FILLED

In 2020, 10,366 cases were reported under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 13,307 cases in 2019, and 12,826 cases in 2018. The crime rate per 1,00,000 people in 2020 stood at 1.6.

The highest number of cases registered was in Uttar Pradesh at 2274 with 2302 victims, followed by Bihar with 1047 victims, 608 cases in Madhya Pradesh, and 522 cases in West Bengal, 479 cases in Rajasthan, 320 cases in Odisha, 275 cases in Jharkhand and 251 cases in Haryana. And in the capital city, Delhi, 110 cases were reported.

Adding to that, around 1,12,000 cases were registered under cruel behavior by the husband and his family, against 1,25,000 cases in 2019 and 1,03,000 cases in 2018.

DOWRY CASES THAT BECOME THE TALK OF THE TOWN

● The Nisha Sharma Case

This case is an example of how IPC 498A could be misused. It started in the year 2003, when Nisha Sharma falsely accused her prospective groom, Munish Dalal of dowry demand. Due to the Indian and International media coverage, Nisha was considered a role model for other women. But after the case ended in 2012, the court found out that Sharma had woven the story to set herself free from the marriage.

In 2003, through a matrimony advertisement, Sharma (then Dutt) and Dalal met and their families fixed their alliance. They were supposed to get hitched on the 11th of March when the arrest took place. According to Sharma and her family, right after the baraat reached the venue, Mrs. Dalal (Munish’s mother) demanded 1200000 INR and a car. When Mr. Dutt objected to it by saying that he is unable to fulfill the demand, Mrs. Dalal verbally and physically abused them. And that was when Sharma called the police.

Whereas Dalal stated that, when they reached the venue, it was empty and there was no one to welcome them. When a relative went to check, he was informed that all is well, and the welcome ritual will get started shortly. When the relative was returning, an agitated man confronted them as Nisha’s husband. After a verbal fight and physical abuse of the groom’s mother by Mr. Dutt, police were called by the Dalals. When describing the situation, Mr. Dutt claimed to be the victim and had proof of his innocence. The baraat was sent back, and the groom and several relatives were arrested the next day.

After long proceedings and testimonials, the district court of Gautam Budh Nagar released the Dalal family due to a lack of evidence supporting the crime. Dalal had also stated that “Her father knew everything, yet was quiet and misbehaved with us. She took this step as she wasn’t interested in this marriage. She became Hero for everyone whereas I was the man without ethics.” And also released the agitated man who claimed to be Nisha’s first husband as he was accused of forgery.

● The Ayesha Banu Case

Everyone had seen the viral video of Ayesha Banu who had jumped into the Sabarmati River, on 25th February 2021. Ayesha Banu was mentally and physically harassed by her husband of three years, Aarif, a mining supervisor. She had been living with her parents since March 2020. Not being able to bear the torture anymore, she made the three-minute video, which was also due to the pressure of her husband. Allegedly, before she committed suicide, she had a long conversation of around 1 hour with her husband, in which he had provoked her to kill herself, after asking her father to withdraw the domestic violence case and send him the video of the same.

In her video message, Ayesha had opened her heart out with a painful smile and had also mentioned that she is ‘granting freedom to Aarif’ and no charges should be pressed against him.

After the recovery of the body, Aarif was arrested under section 306. Ayesha’s father had stated that “I had paid 1.5Lac INR in dowry to Aarif on 26th January 2020. I had lodged an FIR against Aarif along with his parents and sister at Vatva police station for domestic violence and dowry harassment after Ayesha had complained about her in-laws beating her.” He had also mentioned that Aarif’s family had pressurized Ayesha for dowry when she got pregnant in 2019. And due to the stress, she miscarried her baby. After which he had to pay 1.5 Lac INR.

PERSONAL POINT OF VIEW

Even after the Anti-Dowry Act, many educated families still believe in the tradition of dowry. Sometimes, they ask for it right after marriage, and sometimes it is asked after many years. If the wife’s family is incapable of fulfilling the demands then her earnings are confiscated in the name of dowry.

Whereas there is also a section of people, who play the victim card to hide their evil motives. Just like Nisha Sharma, they allege against the groom’s family to come out of the marriage or simply take the advantage of them being on the bride’s side and devastate the groom’s life and reputation. Marriage is an institution where there’s space for only love, respect, companionship, peace, and togetherness. Not hate disrespect, violence, suffocation, and separation.

CONCLUSION

Dowry was a system started to ensure that the daughters have every essential thing in their new home, and live their marital life easily. But slowly, evil-minded people twisted it according to their convenience and made it a nightmare for the family of a daughter. After the sprawling cases of misuse of the Anti-Dowry act, the word ‘Dowry’ has become a nightmare for the groom’s side too.

We need to stop the misappropriation of the power in our hands of being a groom’s family or being a woman and taking advantage of the laws made for the distressed women of society. Because due to such cases, the women who need help from the legal authorities, fear to come up and this results in their unhappiness and sorrow.

This article was written by Abhipsa Sahoo of The Phonetic House