Say no to Dowry

This post is about a young woman from Kerala who lost her life due to Dowry. The shocking fact is that she was starved to death by her husband and in-laws. She weighed a mere 20 kg when she died. Imagine an 27 year old with that weight. She was nothing but a bag of skeleton with hardly any skin on her body. In her last days she just survived on soaked rice and sugar syrup. She suffered gruesome torture at the hands of her in-laws. Just reading the news gave me goosebumps, I can hardly imagine what her family would be going through now. My condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace _/\_

INDIA is still at the epicenter of dowry culture even though it was banned by the government in 1961. The law explicitly forbids dowries, but it suffers from lack of enforcement. Over the years the number of people taking dowry has reduced, but this practice still continues today. Often times leading to abuse and violence. Over 8000 women are killed are a result of dowry system in INDIA every year. A woman is either murdered or tortured to death or either compelled to commit suicide after facing harassment and abuse when her family cannot raise the requested dowry amount. Imagine a father with 2 or more girl children. Having a girl child is viewed as financial burden and people are often compelled to abort the girl child because they simply cannot afford to get their daughters married or they are forced to marry their daughters at a young age to avoid huge dowries resulting in child marriages. Families are often pushed into debt because of the Dowry culture.

The Dowry system dehumanizes women by treating them as property - something that can be exchanged. To make matters worse, the system also casts them as a burden, rather than an asset, to be passed along — a bride’s family pays the groom’s family for the cost of taking care of the bride. Each dowry that's paid reinforces a system where women are viewed as second class citizens.

Simply put Dowry is

Product - Your Sisters, Daughters

Salesman - You

Customer - Groom

Sale - Marriage

USP - Dowry

We read in our books that “Dowry is a social evil.” but today it has become a "social necessity".

Dowries are widespread and oppressive — but that doesn’t mean the practice is so entrenched that it can’t be dismantled.

There are women’s rights and economic justice movements growing in INDIA that seek to abolish dowries. If you or anybody you know is facing harassment because of dowry then I request you to report to the concerned authorities. Please don't take the harassment and please do not suffer in silence.

Folks who are getting married soon, please try to uphold your dignity and pride by rightly refusing any dowry. You've got hands and legs, you've got eyes, you've got your education, you can stand on your own feet. Most importantly girls are not products that you'd shop around for. Stand against Dowry and do not encourage this system. Be a Man, not a beggar to ask Dowry!!

Any young man, who makes dowry a condition to marriage, discredits his education and his country and dishonors womanhood. - Mahatma Gandhi

#SayNoToDowry #BeAMan #DowryIsSocialEvil