NCJ Number
138084
Journal
Human Organization Volume: 50 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1991) Pages: 369-377
Date Published
1991
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This essay examines the practice of dowry and its violent aspects in India, along with some of the public solutions developed to deal with it.
Abstract
Since ancient times, the marriage of Hindus has required the transfer of property from the bride's family to the groom's family. Dowry violence takes a characteristic form. Following marriage and the requisite giving of dowry, the groom's family makes additional demands for the payment of more cash or the provision of more goods. These demands are typically made through the constant harassment of the bride, who lives in the household of her husband's parents. Should additional dowry not be given, the bride is often murdered or driven to suicide. The bride is typically burned to death with kerosene, after which the groom's family looks for another bride from which to receive dowry. The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, as amended in 1984 and 1986, is the primary legal means for the regulation of the dowry process and the control of its excesses. Based on a comparative examination of the distribution of dowry, dowry abuses, attitudes toward dowry and dowry violence, as well as cross-cultural theories of dowry, this analysis shows that the Dowry Prohibition Act has not and will not be effective in the reduction of dowry deaths. A more effective approach would be the development of a gender-neutral body of property and inheritance law. Until that occurs the issue of whether or not dowry prohibition is in the interests of women remains unresolved. 40 references