Why Dowry A Social Evil?

The custom of dowry in Indian marriages is a deep-seated cultural phenomenon that has been described as one of the largest obstacles to “confront India on her road to economic and social justice.” Indeed, one of India’s greatest social failures is the extraordinarily high level of gender inequality and female deprivation that has persisted in the nation for the last several decades through cultural practices such as dowry. The custom is held responsible for a number of problems executed against the nation’s women, including dowry violence, bride burning, and wife murder.
 
"Dowry or Dahej" in the sense of the expression contemplated by Dowry Prohibition Act is a demand for property of valuable security having an inextricable nexus with the marriage, i.e., it is a consideration from the side of the bride's side of family to the groom or his parents/family for the agreement to wed the bride-to-be.

What are the problems faced by dowry system?

The new dowry system is creating problems in society. Poor parents do not get any groom who will marry their daughter without taking dowry. They have to take “Marriage Loans” to get their daughter married. Dowry is becoming a nightmare for Women. The cases of infanticide are increasing.

Dowry system is a common traditional Indian practice that marks a dent on the Indian society. Dowry is the practising of adorning the bride with money or valuable gifts by the parents at the time of marriage.

Dowry system is considered a curse on society as it includes demands and a lot of unpleasantness which gives no importance to the education acquired by a girl.

The Dowry system in India has resulted in the deaths of many young girls and has become a severe problem in our society. The Government of India has imposed various legislative safeguards over the past fifteen years to combat this problem.

However, the dowry system still prevails in India and have resulted in numerous marital and domestic violence that has increased the growth of dowry deaths in the country.

Whats is the government initiative against Dowry?

The Government of India passed The Dowry Prohibition Act in 1961. It was further amended in the year 1986, which states that a person convicted of practising Dowry System is imprisoned for five years and fined up to fifteen thousand rupees.

How many death cases have been reported due to Dowry?

In India, almost 21 cases are registered daily regarding deaths caused due to dowry practice and a total of 1.4 deaths per year per 100,000 women.

Few Solutions to eradicate Dowry:

Education is only the main catalyst to the elimination of dowry in India.

Mainly the education of children and daughters in the society should be continued and they are encouraged to grow their own career without being dependent on anybody. 

Different kinds of Awareness Campaigns should be acknowledged. In the modern era, media is the propagator of knowledge and the broadcaster of information interchange. Since the government has been ineffective with implementing change to dowry-related crimes, media campaigns could initiate a movement to encourage the citizens to abide by the formulated rules of the anti-dowry legislatures.