Oriana Robertson
15 October 2010
4: 37pm
In India, a large portion of the population resides in poverty. Although this is the reality, the burdening practice of giving dowries still prevails. The family of the bride collects a large amount of money to be given to the family of the groom: money that would have otherwise been unavailable under normal circumstances. Although a dowry would traditionally be practiced in rural India, urban India practices the tradition as well. It is frowned upon but is still prevalent in this society and practiced regularly. To an outsider, dowries would seem unrealistic; the custom is an important part of Indian culture.
Increasingly, women are being chastised and harassed because of the groom’s family’s dissatisfaction with the amount of the dowry. This increases the reluctance of having a daughter for couples who have children on the way. The burden can often be unbearable and lead to social evils that include the killing of female babies immediately after birth, infanticides, domestic violence against women, and stunningly, “bride burning.”
Reported bride burning has been steadily increasing over the recent years at the national level by the hundreds but does not represent the unreported cases. Often times, women fear retaliation from the groom’s family so they do not fully report cases, if that. Many of these deaths have been handed off as “accidents” or “suicides” and for various reasons.
This leads me to believe the idea that marriage is a financial transaction in India and in many surrounding countries. Although finances are a significant aspect of marriage, it is evident that it has different meanings around the world. In American marriages, most money goes towards the wedding itself whereas in countries in South East Asia, large portions of money go to the family of the groom. This custom reflects the gender roles in these societies. Women are usually seen as ‘less’ than men and therefore: must leave her family to reside with his, must be subjected to the preferred treatment of the grooms family, and must essentially give a large portion of her family’s wealth to be subjected to the sometimes greedy desires of another family. The issue of dowry disagreements reflects a larger social problem that needs to be addressed.
http://helplinesamiti.com/?p=138
http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/08/dowry-in-india-putting-the-institution-of-marriage-at-stake/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dowry-in-india-putting-the-institution-of-marriage-at-stake
2 comments:
This is such a sad reflection of the value of women as well as marriage. I remember watching the Oprah Show a few years ago of an interviewer inside of the hospital in India where there were over 60 victims of the oven explosions and accidental kitchen fires also known as Bride Burning. At the conclusion of the interview as she traveled and gave the report on the Oprah Show she announced that not one of the 60 women at the hospital survived. It seems to be such horrible event that is so frequent that more laws and preventive measures would be taken in light of these fatalities. As we have learned in sociology we talk about the differences between women and different gender disparities especially financially and this just seems to be another bullet point in our pages that we make reference to but perhaps can contribute to helping these women. It's horrible to think that killing someone for a financial benefit is an answer to an economic issue. I only can hope that this can change.
This is very disheartening. It's really disgusting that someone could have such a disreguard for human life. It is clear that gender equality has come a long way, but articles like this really feels like slap in the face.
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