Dowry System in India !!
Women of today are walking shoulder to shoulder with men in all aspects of life. In the age old historic times, women were restricted within the four walls of the house but now they are moving out to explore various opportunities and be self-dependent. Inspite of this kind of modernization and the increasing role of women in various fields of life, the practice of dowry is still prevailing in the country.
Dowry is a curse for the Indian society as utter disrespect for women is clearly showcased in this issue. This is a pitiful situation for our motherland where women of the country and tortured and burnt alive for meeting the requirements of dowry. The tradition of giving money to the groom's family in marriage was attributed to the feeling of love and affection infused within the heart of the bride's parents. Parents of the bride used to give money, jewellery, and various other sources of comfort to ensure that their daughter live a happy and joyful life after marriage. Sadly, this love and affection got transformed to a selfish motive. The tradition became a burden on bride's parents but a source of joy and contentment for the groom or their parents.
The problem is more disturbing and challenging in the rural areas and villages. Infact today dowry has become a major element of settling a marriage or even the only condition of letting the marriage go on. Isn't this a shame for our country? The agility, self-respect, humbleness, and innocence of a woman are measured by the component of dowry. It is believed that woman is the best gift God gifted us but even then she is ill-treated just to fill someone's pocket. When a marriage is fixed no one is concern as to how smart, intelligent, and homely the girl is but all that matters is how much cash and luxuries will she get home. Is this the cause God created women? If not then why are women ill-treated and why is there innocence being buried under deep stacks of cash notes?
The Government of India has also taken good initiatives to combat the issue from deep within the root. With the key motive to prohibit the heavy demand in dowry, government introduced the Dowry Prohibition Act on 1st July 1961. Later on, many amendments were added to the Act in order to keep a strict eye on this kind of cruelty. According to the Act anyone taking or giving dowry can be sentenced to imprisonment for 5 years and a fine of Rs 15,000 or the value of dowry if that is more. When a strict rule is prevailing in the country then why women are still facing the problem? It's really shocking to record the statistics of dowry in the country that shows a steady rise. Rather than subsiding, it is continuously increasing with more and more women getting burnt to ashes. Researches have dictated that about 9, 5000 women in India are stabbed to death over the dowry issue. The statistics are more in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but sadly the largest IT sector of the country Bangalore has also recorded an alarming rise.
The evil has spread its tentacles across the country. Women are trying hard to save their lives with the support of legal amendments, media support, serious activism, and heightened awareness. Despite of all these protest why India is still holding the stigma of dowry? Why not women can be completely relieved from this pain and burden?
The practice continues unabated on a very large scale. It"s high time for us all to wake up and give a serious call to this alarming issue of dowry system in India.
