Introduction
The dowry system in India refers to the durable goods, cash and real or moveable property that the bride’s family gives to the bridegroom, his parents, or his relatives as a condition of the marriage.
The dowry system in India refers to the durable goods, cash and real or moveable property that the bride’s family gives to the bridegroom, his parents, or his relatives as a condition of the marriage.
Dowry system is a stigma in Indian culture. One of
the longest standing evils associated with marriage. It is still prevalent in
the 21st century, this is one of the major causes of social atrocities
against women. The dowry system is to put great financial burden on the bride’s
family. In some cases, the dowry system leads to heinous crime like emotional,
sexual, physical abuse and even death.
Read about- The suicide rate of Indian Women
Read about- The suicide rate of Indian Women
Causes of dowry
Greed – Owing to expectations of material benefits from the bride’s family,
dowry is demanded for, and at times, when the demands are note met, either the
marriage is ended, or the bride is exploited.
Illiteracy- With a literacy rate of 74.04% in the country, it is quite valid to
consider it the primary cause for different social evils. The society lacks
knowledge and how to treat women as a human being. The huge problem is male dominant
society and it has been taught to the men that they are stronger in any way than
women.
Lack of willingness
to follow the laws- The primary reason behind the failure is lack of
mass participation. Society pay no heed to such laws. Even educated families like bureaucrats, celebrities and politicians, they also practice dowry which contradict the rule in the name of customs.
Indian laws against dowry system
The payment of dowry has long been prohibited under the
dowry prohibition act 1961 and subsequently by section 304B and 498A of the Indian
penal code.
The dowry prohibition
Act 1961 article 3- This Act extends to the whole of India except
the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This act
prohibits the practice of giving or taking of dowry by either party to a marriage. This law also punishes demanding and advertising dowry.
The more serious crimes in relation to dowry such as
dowry death and cruelty from dowry demands are punishable under the general law
on crimes- the India penal code, 1860
Indian laws against dowries have been in effect, however, they have been largely criticized as being ineffective. The practice of dowry deaths
and murders continues to take place unchecked in many parts of India.
Section 498- The Indian penal code required the bridegroom and his hammily to be automatically
arrested if a wife complains of dowry harassment. The law was widely abused and
in 2 2014, the supreme court ruled that arrests can only be made with a
magistrate approval.
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence
Act, 2005
The protection of women from domestic violence Act,
2005, was passed to provide a civil law remedy for the protection of women from
domestic violence in India. The domestic violence Act encompasses all forms of
physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and forms a subset of the anti-dowry to
the extent it is one if the reasons for domestic violence.
To curb the misuse of anti-dowry law supreme court orders
the setting up of family-welfare committees in all district under the supervision
of the National Legal Authority (NALSA).
Current scenario- Harming men's right
The supreme court modified its previous order that provided
for setting up a committee to deal with complaints of dowry harassment. The court
modified its judgement and took a note of the “misuse of section 498A and said
that the accused can now seek anticipatory bail".
The court also stated that
though the section 498A was enacted to protect a married woman from cruelty, its
misuse to harass the other side too is causing social unrest.
The court restored the powers of the police to act
on complaints of dowry harassment under section 498A. Court said it appropriate
to direct the investigating officer to be careful in dealing with companies of
dowry harassment.
The offence is both non-cognisable and non- bailable,
which implies that bail can only be granted after examining by the magistrate.
Conclusion
There are uncountable dowry cases in India and thousand
are still pending in the courts. Women have been facing such cruelty since
long. Women are considered as an object in India society especially in rural
areas. Though girls are becoming educated and self-dependent in the modern India.
But the older generation is still primitive in their minds. Indian government
made several strict laws to curb such crime against women. However, the other
face of the society where women intend to misuse the laws and play ugly. There are
various cases where woman accused her husband and make fake case of dowry there
are always two sides of coin. Indian government has addressed such problem and
started strict investigation activity to find out the real causes of the cases.
Read about: Womenomics
Read about: Womenomics
