Dilution of Anti-Dowry Law Spells Danger For Indian Women
| Share | Tweet |
Published on: |
2011-03-09 11:59:27 |
The gift of a dowry, or dahej, from a bride and her family to a groom, in the form of goods, property, or more commonly, money, is a worldwide tradition dating back to pre-Babylonian culture. The dowry can be used to cover marital costs, and even act as insurance should a bride's parents in-law mistreat her. A wife will be entitled to receive her dowry at the time of her husband's death and it is a sum only inheritable to her blood children, not those of her husband to another woman.
In British Victorian society, a dowry was generally given in the upper classes as an early payment of a daughter's inheritance. This meant that only those daughters who had not already received their dowries would be entitled to a portion of their parent's estate following their death.
The giving of a dowry may seem a somewhat archaic practice from a western standpoint, however, the custom is still very much an active part of the culture in many Asian countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India.
Although in some societies, the gift of a dowry may still prove a productive and respectful aid to a new marriage, there were calls in 1961 for India to pass legislation to outlaw the practice. This was due to cases of horrific treatment of those women who refused or were unable to pay.
In 1986, new terminology for a type of domestic violence crime was introduced to the Indian judicial system. “Dowry Death” was categorised as being when "within 7 years of her marriage, a woman is killed 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. If 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."
Bride burning, as it is most commonly referred to, is an extreme form of domestic violence which evolved from the early practices of forcibly condemning a widow to burn alive with her husband in his funeral pyre. The crime is usually committed in present day India when a dowry given by a bride's family is deemed insufficient. In what is often passed off as a “kitchen fire”, the bride is murdered to allow the husband to remarry, often as punishment to the family.
Realistic unofficial figures show that cases of dowry murder, bride burning and female mutilation in India stand at 25,000 women a year, considerably greater than the total number, worldwide, of cases of mortality and injury from land-mines. Whereas official police figures show that around 2,500 suspected cases are reported annually, on average, there are just a mere 1948 actual convictions. This may be due, in a large part, to a cultural bias or even an acceptance of the practice by police officials.
Its seems as if actions spurred on by recently formed 'men's rights' groups, claiming that the law is being abused by women to extort money from husbands, could soon see the law amended. With women's organisations reducing the campaigns from men's groups to little more than a bitter backlash against female independence, it seems as if the largely patriarchal culture is reacting strongly.
Some Indian males are claiming that the anti-dowry law as it stands demoralizes the husband, citing that proof of the law being misused was evident when almost 95% of men charged under the code were acquitted, arguably due to a prejudiced penal system or from the withdrawal of allegations by pressurised women.
The International Society Against Dowry And Bride Burning in India regard the concepts of dowry and bride burning as a singular, intertwined “evil”. The society initialised a conference at Harvard University in 1995 to eradicate the practice and ensure the safety of Indian women by devising a pioneering six-point program. The program, which is yet to be implemented, advocates appropriate economic schemes, safe housing for victims of dowry crime, education in financial independence for women and pension-like schemes for older citizens to ease reliance upon younger family members.
Although some of the outlined courses of action may seem a little unrealistic at this time, the ISADABBI are at least acknowledging the there is a great need for action in India, particularly as figures show a steep rise in the number of cases per year. Dowry crime is a very present epidemic in modern day India.
Unfortunately, with a legislation which directly effects such a large population, there will be some cases of the law being misused. Sadly, it is unavoidable that a small minority will act opportunistically without considering the repercussions of their actions for the larger population of women.
Rajesh Vakharia, a 42-year-old divorcee from Nagpur, told the Independent how he felt that his wife and her family had misused the law: "I was held for six days in the police station," he said. "She wanted to extort money from me. I would not pay and fought the case. Eventually I won, but for fours years I was not able to see my son. What is happening in India is very sad. There is no protection for men."
However, many would argue that the safety of an overwhelming majority of Indian women, whose very lives are at risk, is unquestionably the key priority, rather than the idea of an infringement to masculine pride, which more recently seems to have motivated those who have joined the anti-dowry band-wagon.
The general consensus from women's organisations and the families of victims of dowry crime is that the matter needs to be taken more seriously as the argument seems increasingly focused upon directing attention towards the trivialities of the subject and denial of pressing issues, such as an overwhelmingly large death toll.
Surely with a problem as marring to the cultural landscape of India as this, even with the correct legislation already in place, any amendments in favour of the husband's standpoint could prove devastating to India's female population. It seems that perhaps implementing a policy to penalise those who misuse the legislation would be a far more effective course of action than changing the law itself. Such a sweeping, seemingly rash move could hint at a bias in the current Indian Judicial system.
If the law is genuinely being misused and men are being marginalised and exploited as they attest, then what possible explanation could there be for almost 25,000 women a year still dying in India?
As the Indian government prepares to amend act 498a, the1961 Dowry Prohibition Law, it seems that a sense of fear for the future is the driving force behind many women lobbyists who are petitioning to deaf ears about the repercussions of changing what little legal protection they have.
With the frequency of dowry murders and crimes steadily on the rise in modern day India, it seems that any dilution of anti-dowry law could prove catastrophic for the safety of future generations of young Indian women.
By Danielle Walden
[Image courtesy of Ryan Opaz]