Dowry death
Encyclopedia
Dowry deaths are the deaths of young women who are murder
ed or driven to suicide
by continuous harassment and torture by husbands and in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry
. Dowry deaths are reported in various South Asia
n countries such as India
, Pakistan
, and Bangladesh
. Dowry death is considered one of the many categories of violence against women in South Asia. According to Indian National Crime Record Bureau, there were 1,948 convictions and 3,876 acquittals in dowry death cases in year 2008.
Most dowry deaths occur when the young woman, unable to bear the harassment and torture, commits suicide. Most of these suicides are by hanging, poisoning or by fire. Sometimes the woman is killed by setting her on fire; this is known as "bride burning
", and sometimes disguised as suicide or accident. According to Indian police, every year it receives over 2,500 reports of bride-burning , while human rights organizations in Pakistan
report over 300 deaths per year. The Indian National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports that there were about 8172 dowry death cases registered in India in 2008 . Incidents of dowry deaths during the year 2008 (8172) have increased by 14.4 per cent over 1998 level (7146).
The Dowry Prohibition Act, passed in India in 1961, prohibits the request, payment or acceptance of a dowry, "as consideration for the marriage", where "dowry" is defined as a gift demanded or given as a precondition for a marriage. Gifts given without a precondition are not considered dowry, and are legal. Asking or giving of dowry can be punished by an imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs. 5000. It replaced several pieces of anti-dowry legislation that had been enacted by various Indian states.
Indian women's rights activists campaigned for more than 40 years to contain dowry deaths, such as the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 and the more stringent Section 498a of IPC (enacted in 1983). Using the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005
(PWDVA) implemented in 2006, a woman can put a stop to the dowry harassment by approaching a domestic violence protection officer. Due to demands by women's rights activists, the Indian government has modified property inheritance laws and permitted daughters to claim equal rights to their parental property. Some religious groups have urged the people to curb the extravagant spending during the marriages.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed or driven to suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by continuous harassment and torture by husbands and in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
. Dowry deaths are reported in various South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n countries such as India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Dowry death is considered one of the many categories of violence against women in South Asia. According to Indian National Crime Record Bureau, there were 1,948 convictions and 3,876 acquittals in dowry death cases in year 2008.
Most dowry deaths occur when the young woman, unable to bear the harassment and torture, commits suicide. Most of these suicides are by hanging, poisoning or by fire. Sometimes the woman is killed by setting her on fire; this is known as "bride burning
Bride burning
Bride-burning is a form of domestic violence practiced in India and Pakistan. It is not the same as ancient and long abolished custom of Sati, where widowed women were forcefully placed on a burning pyre of the dead husband and burnt to death.This has been treated as culpable homicide and if...
", and sometimes disguised as suicide or accident. According to Indian police, every year it receives over 2,500 reports of bride-burning , while human rights organizations in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
report over 300 deaths per year. The Indian National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports that there were about 8172 dowry death cases registered in India in 2008 . Incidents of dowry deaths during the year 2008 (8172) have increased by 14.4 per cent over 1998 level (7146).
The Dowry Prohibition Act, passed in India in 1961, prohibits the request, payment or acceptance of a dowry, "as consideration for the marriage", where "dowry" is defined as a gift demanded or given as a precondition for a marriage. Gifts given without a precondition are not considered dowry, and are legal. Asking or giving of dowry can be punished by an imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs. 5000. It replaced several pieces of anti-dowry legislation that had been enacted by various Indian states.
Indian women's rights activists campaigned for more than 40 years to contain dowry deaths, such as the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 and the more stringent Section 498a of IPC (enacted in 1983). Using the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 was brought into force by the Indian government from October 26, 2006. The Act was passed by the Parliament in August 2005 and assented to by the President on 13 September 2005. As of November 2007, it has been ratified by four of...
(PWDVA) implemented in 2006, a woman can put a stop to the dowry harassment by approaching a domestic violence protection officer. Due to demands by women's rights activists, the Indian government has modified property inheritance laws and permitted daughters to claim equal rights to their parental property. Some religious groups have urged the people to curb the extravagant spending during the marriages.
Further reading
- Dowry and Protection to Married Women, by Paras Diwan, Peeyushi Diwan. Published by Deep & Deep Publications, 1987.
- Crime in Marriages, a Broad Spectrum, by Poornima Advani. Published by Gopushi Publishers, 1994.
- Encyclopaedia of violence against women and dowry death in India, by Kalpana Roy. Published by Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 1999. ISBN 81-261-0343-4.
- Dowry Death in India, by Geetanjali Mukherjee. Published by Indian Publishers Distributors, 1999. ISBN 81-7341-091-7.
- Dowry Death, by Kamakshya Prasad, Jawaid Ahmad Khan, Hari Nath Upadhyaya. Published by Modern Law Publications, 2000. ISBN 81-87629-04-5.
- Women in South Asia: Dowry Death and Human Rights Violations, by Pramod Kumar Mishra. Published by AuthorsPress, 2000. ISBN 81-7273-039-X.
- Dowry murder: the imperial origins of a cultural crime, by Veena Talwar Oldenburg. Published by Oxford University Press US, 2002. ISBN 0-19-515071-6.
- Death by Fire: Sati, Dowry, Death, and Female Infanticide in Modern India, by Mala Sen. Published by Rutgers University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8135-3102-0.
External links
- Article by women's activist Madhu Kishwar
- Indian National Crime Bureau Data on Dowry Deaths
- Indian newspaper articles on Dowry Deaths
- - National Commission for Women, (NCW) India
- Death of two women due to dowry demands
- Leaders of community call for an end to lavish wedding celebrations
- Dowry Disgrace and Suicides
- Man executed in Bangladesh for causing dowry death to his newly wed wife
- Most dowry victims in State of Punjab(India) are poisoned