Although it has been forbidden in 1961, dowry thrives. Its current form is a social evil responsible for thousands of victims every year.It is a wedding evening in Kalpa, in the mountains of Himachal.Two men count wads of banknotes. Then, they count again. The dowry is worth two lakh rupees, a huge sum for this family of small apple producers. In addition to cash, count also a fridge, a washing machine, a colour TV, a bed, furniture and…a woman! Tonight, she is covered with garlands of ten rupee notes as if it was needed to under-line her market value.
‘I GOT IT!’ The groom’s family receives two lakh rupees as dowry
in Kalpa, Himmachal Pradesh. Smiling bitterly, the bride’s mother confesses that she “feels relieved.” To get her daughter married was not an easy task. For many parents in India, the son is seen as a boon and the girl as a curse. This attitude is directly linked to dowry. According to UNICEF, India has a ratio of 927 women for 1000 boys. India is the second country after China to face such an unbalanced situation. Selective abortions and infanticides happen frequently using pre-natal sex determination tests.
Such tests have been banned, but there is an industry in the backyards of cities that flourishes with doctors being partners in crime. The situation is getting even worst over the years: according to the UN Fund for the Population, the number of missing women in Asia has increased from 100 to 163 million between 1990 and 2005. “Allah should not give daughters to the poor. It is too expensive and after you
have to borrow money to your neighbours” explains Mohammed Ahmed, a poor employee who has a daughter.
It is not just birth that is dangerous for the Indian girl. Later, after marriage, they also become victims of “dowry death”. The drama almost always follows the same path: because the bride’s family can not afford new increasing demands of the in-laws, the husband and the mother in-law start ill-treating the young women. After a while, she mysteriously commits suicide: the husband is now free to marry again.
And cash in on a new dowry. Official’s figures are already scary: 98 victims each day in 1999. But it still seems to be underestimated. Vimochana, an association based in Bangalore, led a survey from 1997 to 1999. They figure out, that on the hundred violent deaths filed by the Bengaluru police each month, most of them were “dowry crimes”.The bulk of the victims were young women who had recently married.Two thirds of them were burnt to death.
Witnesses, police, medical staff and family members work to maintain silence over the murders. Even if it is taboo, “dowry death” is a widely accepted custom. In 2000, the Supreme Court of Karnataka severely blamed police and lawyers: only 6% of the dowry crimes ended up in prosecution. Moreover, it seems that “there is no political
will to make things change,” as explains D.Fernandes, an activist at Vimochana.
“The current dowry system is fairly new in India. It has mainly developed on the increasing consumerist and materialistic mentality of Indians. The last 30 years have seen two big changes in the Indian marriage: dowry is now a demand and not a gift. And this demand can happen at any time, sometimes three or four times” says Fernandes. Voiceless and suppressed, most women in India get sold off, as marriages become all about money.
