Dowry: Reality Even Today
“A withered flower
Desires crushed by strong power
At hands of dowry”
A 27-year-old, PhD scholar, allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room at IIT-Delhi and her parents accused her in-laws of harassing their daughter, Manjula Devak, of pursuing her studies.
According to her father, Manoj Kumar Devak, her husband demanded a 20-25 lakh dowry. The couple tied the knot in the year 2013 but they had been living separately for over a year. “We got our daughter married early because their horoscopes had matched perfectly,” said Devak. Her father told Hindustan Times, “It was a mistake to educate my daughter and send her to IIT. I should have saved all the money for her dowry,”
India has an alarming trend that sees 20 women die every day as a result of harassment over 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.
The Meaning of Dowry under Section 2 in the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, “dowry” means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly—
(a) by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage; or
(b) by the parent of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or any other person,
Meaning of Dowry Death [304B. Dowry death. — (1) Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be called “dowry death”, and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death.
(2) Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.]
Dowry has been a tradition running throughout all of Indian society. It is a tradition that the groom and his relatives demand cash, jewellery and other luxuries from the bride’s family. Upon marriage, the daughter is given household appliances for dowries such as furniture, TVs, refrigerators and even clothing, cash and jewellery. It was given to show love and affection from the bride’s family and to ensure a joyful life after they are married. The rich viewed dowry as a status symbol, but for the poor, it is a sense of honour. Some people would say dowry is a curse for Indian society and disrespectful to women in this situation. This tradition is a burden on the bride’s family but the groom and his family get to enjoy the fruits of their labour. The value of the dowry depends on the job the groom has at the time.
In 1961, the Dowry Prohibition Act made giving and taking of dowry, its abatement or the demand for it an offence punishable with imprisonment and fine or without the latter. This was an abysmal failure as dowries became a nationwide phenomenon, replacing bride prices. More stringent laws were followed but with little effect.
Anti-dowry laws have proven to be toothless, they are not to be judged by their intent but by their implementation. Only if it is a case of dowry-related death then Cr.P.C. will provide a minimum of 7 years of imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment. If there is an exchange of dowry then there is imprisonment of 6 months or Rs.5000/- as a fine or both. It is pertinent to note that if giving and taking dowry is treated so casually under the law then no wonder we read that crores of rupees are given as dowry and even a peon and a constable with a government job gets a motorcycle which costs 1lakh.
A few observations on what needs to be done suffice: while the expansion of education among girls and more rewarding employment opportunities for girls and women are likely to enhance women’s bargaining power, in a context where they are highly disadvantaged there could be perverse outcomes. Evidence suggests, for example, that a woman gaining employment while the male spouse is unemployed may cause tension and domestic violence. Together with rewarding employment opportunities, the transfer of property to women (e.g. landed property) significantly reduces the risk of marital violence. The immovable property provides a woman economic and physical security, enhances her self-esteem, and visibly signals the strength of her fall-back position and tangible exit option. It can both deter violence and provide an escape if violence occurs.
Many of the laws related to dowry harassment and domestic violence need amendments. “For years, men have misused these laws. They constantly look for loopholes in these laws once they are booked as accused. The cases are registered by a male-dominated law enforcement system. The cases are fought and heard mostly by a male-dominated judicial system. When there is no representation of women in any of these processes, how do you think women can ever get justice?” Recently, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) as recent as 2021, released the “Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India Report 2021.”
Domestic Violence & Dowry Deaths:
○ Only 507 cases were registered in the country under the Domestic Violence Act in 2021 — 0.1% of the total cases of crime against women.
○ The highest number of cases (270) were filed in Kerala.
○ 6,589 cases of dowry deaths were registered in 2021 with the highest number of such deaths registered in UP and Bihar.
According to NCRB reports on 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 are decided according to the kilos of gold, cash, latest vehicles and appliances she brings in dowry for her in-laws.
- Twenty women are killed by dowry sharks every day in India. Between 2017 and 2021, a total of 35,493 dowry deaths took place in India as per the Union Home Ministry’s reply to Parliament on Wednesday, citing National Crime Records Bureau data.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number (11,874) of dowry deaths during the five years followed by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and Rajasthan. UP and Bihar together accounted for nearly half (48 per cent) of the total dowry deaths in the country.
As many as 5,354 women are killed for dowry in Bihar with above 1,000 deaths every year during 2017-2021. Uttar Pradesh’s average death count is 2,375 per year. Madhya Pradesh witnessed 2,859 dowry deaths in five years, followed by West Bengal at 2,389 deaths and Rajasthan at 2244 deaths.
As per the written reply given by MoS Home Ajay Kumar Mishra “Teni” to Congress MP KC Venugopal, as many as 1,653 dowry deaths took place in Odisha, followed by Haryana 1,235 deaths. From 2017 to 2021, 998 women were killed in Maharashtra and 934 in Karnataka. Telangana reported 933 dowry deaths during this period while as many as 623 women were killed in Andhra Pradesh.
In Assam, 847 dowry deaths happened during this period. As many as 336 women were killed in Punjab, followed by Uttarakhand 317 deaths in five years. Delhi witnessed 639 dowry deaths in five years. States like Gujarat, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, and Manipur reported 0 to 50 cases per year from 2017 to 2021.
NCW REPORT: Nearly 31,000 complaints of crimes committed against women were received by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in 2022, the highest since 2014.
In 2021, the NCW had received 30,864 complaints while in 2022, the number slightly increased to 30,957.
Of the 30,957 complaints, the maximum of 9,710 were related to the right to live with dignity that takes into account the emotional abuse of women, followed by those related to domestic violence at 6,970 and dowry harassment at 4,600, according to NCW data accessed by PTI.
Conviction rate of Dowry death-
The news came in from a state like Kerala which we considered as the most educated one of all the states in the country. The state police have registered 223 dowry harassment cases from 2011 to February 10, 2022. While the chargesheets had been submitted in 79% (176) of these cases, the conviction rate was at a low 4% — in seven cases. On the contrary, the accused were acquitted in 32 cases. A top police officer told TNIE that the verdict in the Vismaya case would be a reference for similar cases in the future which will prevent such atrocities.
Along with Kerala, we have Maharashtra with 998 dowry death cases, Karnataka with 934 of such cases and Telangana with 933. If educated states like these can have some shocking numbers like this it makes us ponder the reasons.
The story turns dismal when it comes to investigation and trial. As recent as 2020 in courts, two in every three persons accused of dowry deaths go scot-free while four in every five persons accused under Dowry Prohibition Act escape jail.
In courts, two in every three persons accused of dowry deaths go scot-free while four in every five persons accused under Dowry Prohibition Act escape jail.
In dowry deaths, 3,589 of the 49,806 cases under trial were disposed of by the courts last year. The conviction took place only in 1,253 (35.6%) cases. The pending rate was pegged at 92.8%.
When it comes to cases under Dowry Prohibition Act, courts completed the trial in 3,045 cases out of 51,469 cases under trial last year. Only 654 cases ended in conviction while 2,120 saw acquittal with a conviction rate at a dismal 21.5%.
The scenario in Karnataka is bleak. Of the 118 cases in which trial was completed, the state police could get convictions in just 7% (nine cases) of the total cases. DH asked Praveen Sood, Director-General and Inspector-General of Police of Karnataka, about the low conviction rates in cases of dowry deaths in the state. “No comments” was his response
A senior police official in the national capital sought to blame it on insufficient evidence, lack of interest among the victims’ families and false cases foisted on families. However, police figures show that just 174 out of 10,411 dowry death cases, including those from previous years, were found to be false, while it was 462 out of 20,652 under Dowry Prohibition Act.
“There is a general perception in the society that women are misusing the provisions of anti-dowry laws in the country, due to which not many people like working for the cause of justice for victims of dowry harassment,” says Poornima G of Mahila Munnade in Mandya.
“The high pendency rate and the long wait for the final judgement act as a deterrence to take up this cause,” says Poornima.
Many a time, the victims’ families chicken out from the case and go for an out-of-court settlement, fearing that a prolonged court battle could be detrimental to the future of other daughters. In many instances, the culprit’s family manages to mask evidence or sometimes even tampers with it.
Activists say it is not that the laws are insufficient but when it comes to implementation, the police tend to side with the groom’s family, thanks to a strong patriarchal mindset that runs through the law enforcement agencies as well as in the society. Moreover, the pressure from the women’s families also wanes as the fear of society overcomes the sense of justice.
As hundreds of victims continue to suffer in silence, one would do well to remember what Mahatma Gandhi wrote in Young India in June 1928: “Any young man who makes dowry a condition of marriage discredits his education and dishonours womanhood. A strong public opinion should be created in condemnation of the degrading practice and young men who soil their fingers with such ill-gotten gold should be excommunicated from society.”
“The main issue is that the police see dowry cases as family matters that should be handled privately. When they have to choose from several cases, they do not prioritize dowry-related matters last. Some of the lacunas of police can be seen in some Supreme Court Cases like in the case of Bhagwant Singh v. Commr. of Police Delhi is supported by the Apex Court that the incidence of unnatural deaths is much higher than indicated by the police. Police diaries are not kept properly and are produced before a magistrate. Dowry is seen as a custom that is acceptable in society. We frequently observe law enforcement organisations taking a fairly permissive attitude as a result. Because it is still performed as a rite in the nation, it is referred to as a societal evil. Thus, the government must enact a stringent ban on it. Now we don’t even see people talking about dowry which has now manifested itself in different ways like foreign destination weddings, exorbitant designer wedding dresses, and expensive gifts thereby absolutely putting the girl’s family in dire financial distress. Let’s move towards simplicity and simple marriages which is the only way to tackle this social menu. A strong public opinion and high convictions of criminal cases about dowry will only ensure that we won’t lose 20 young brides every day. When was the last time you saw an advertisement for dowries in a major newspaper or on television?
– Written by Guest Editor
Advocate Aabha Singh
Abha Singh is a former civil servant and presently an advocate practising in the Bombay High Court. She is a renowned social activist who has done considerable work in the realm of women’s rights, gender equality and justice. She has done an M.Phil on Child Rights from the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.