We live in a male dominating society. Women have been neglected at so many places. The birth of a female child is still considered to be a burden on the parents. People do not feel happy having daughters. Marriage of a daughter is very difficult for the parents because they have to give dowry to the bridegroom and his parents so that they may give a respectable place to their daughter in the family. Dowry is a joy for the groom and his relatives because they get cash, jewelry, costly dress, utensil and furniture. But, it is a curse for bride’s parents who have to bear gigantic cost to satisfy the demands of the groom’s family. And the demands of the groom and his family continue after marriage too, which makes life of a girl miserable and difficult. She is sent to her parental home to bring more cash, ornaments, etc. If she returns without, that cruel treatment waits for her. And due to this torture, sometimes girls commit suicide because they left with no other option. People are so greedy nowadays, they settle the amount of dowry before fixing the date of marriage. The demands of parents and groom depends upon the financial status of the bride’s parents. Demands for cars, bikes, money and costly furniture is growing in our society. But the greedy nature of the dowry seekers remains unsatisfied. And if someone cannot fulfil their needs their daughter have to face torture, beating and even burning alive. Parents send their daughters to another home, having a blank idea, what will happen because they have not fulfilled their perpetual demands. In the whole process of marriage, dowry itself accounts for the major cost of the marriage. Dowry system can be ranked number one among all the dangerous social evils. Though many people have been criticized this system, but it is still in custom. It has degraded the womanhood. It is not only a social evil, it is a curse for our society. Dowry ultimately becomes the cause of unhappiness of newly married couple. It has become a transaction between two families and marriage become just a treaty. At one point, the tradition of dowry had become a status symbol, a price to pay to get their daughters married. The more qualified the groom, the more would be the amount of dowry. It is like climbing the class ladder, this is called marrying into a family of a ‘superior’ caste or class. The pressure of dowry leads to the parents saving money for their daughter marriage and not sending her to school when she was a child. They prefer just to teach their daughter roles of housewife than wasting money on her education. This promotes the illiteracy. A total change of ways of thinking is required in our society. Women should be treated as the partner of men and not as a source of dowry. They should be given equal rights. They should be provided equal honor and dignity in our society. Educate your daughters & let them live their life. If not today, maybe the upcoming generations will understand that we, ourselves, can create a land of Happiness, love, respect and dignity for all.
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