Dowry: The evil that never died

By Sruthi S S/ MCJ

A series of unnatural deaths have caught our attention. The common factor is that they were all the victims of the dowry system still practiced in India. Even though it is legally abolished, dowry remains an inevitable part of Indian marriages. The recent death of Vismaya, a young woman in Kollam, Kerala has brought back the discussions on dowry, dowry deaths and domestic violence.

The practice of ‘bride-burning’ used to be considered an indigenous evil that existed only in certain communities in North India. However, we can observe that similar instances are occurring even in the ‘model state’ of Kerala. Kerala sets the bar for all other states in terms of female sex ratio and female literacy ratio. It has transcended regional boundaries, class differences and has succeeded in the educational upliftment of society. However, the practice of dowry continued thriving beneath the surface and still exists in our society, in various forms.

How did this practice take root? If we go back to one of the earliest civilisations—the Babylonian culture, as recorded in the Hamurabis code—there existed the concept of ‘bride’s wealth’ where the groom pays off the bride’s family. This practice is seen as a compensatory transaction, as the bride’s family loses one of its working members.

Even among Indian tribal communities, similar practices can be observed. The transaction of wealth flowed from the groom’s family to that of the bride. It is believed that as Vedic civilisation and the caste system became prominent, dowry became a practice among ruling and priestly classes to maintain their wealth and social status. Likewise, ‘bride’s wealth’ was practiced by common people who earned primarily from agriculture. However, as the dependence on agriculture decreased, the practice of dowry increased even among the common people in Indian society.

According to renowned anthropologist, Claude Lewis Strauss, the fundamental characteristic of a patriarchal society is the exchange of women to make alliances with other families. This had several functions: increase in political capital, military strength and wealth (marriages were accompanied by exchanges of other gifts, which also played the role of marking one’s status in society.)

Therefore, in such a society, women are treated as a valuable commodity exchanged as ‘gifts’ in the economy. Besides the benefits mentioned above, the exchange of women also creates blood relationships and new relatives and affinities by marriage.

Today, we have strict rules against dowry. The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961—which criminalises the practice of giving or receiving dowry—states that any person who receives dowry shall be punished with at least five years in jail. However, it comes with many loopholes. Even though it criminalised the act of demanding, giving and receiving of dowry, it has provisions supporting the act of wedding gifts, that are devoid of tax regulations. Hence dowry deaths and cases of bride-burning continues to surface from time to time. The Dowry Prohibition Act was amended in 1986 through a joint sitting. Certain sections were added to Indian Penal Code as well IPC section 304 B and 498A by specifically naming dowry death. In 2016, Kerala’s highest number of dowry deaths were reported—25. As per the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2019, Kerala saw 194 cases that come under the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act. On May 5, 2020, the State Police set up Domestic Conflict Resolution Centres (DCRCs) across the state to bring efficiency in addressing cases of domestic violence. This was done in the context of the increase in domestic violence cases during the pandemic lockdown. This trend was observed across nations.

In the clash of values, most newly married women find themselves in a dilemma. Even after suffering in their husband's homes, they often have no choice but to stay, for their parents won't have them back. At times, even the bride's family refuses to take the responsibility for her once they have done away with the duty of marrying her off. For the most part, women choose to bear it all for the sake of her children.

Dowry deaths are clear cases of gender violence committed against married young women. Patriarchal society has a role to play in this as they normalise aggression against women from their spouses to the point where the victim is unaware of the abuses they are subjected to. The tremendous social pressure to remain in the marital relation even after numerous ‘red flag’ situations further exacerbates their condition.

We can only hope that the current discourse of questioning and exposing the dowry system becomes the silver lining in the aftermath of Vismaya’s unfortunate death. Let it grow to be a flame that exposes the hypocrisy, and a light that leads our young generation to fight against such social evils.