Dowries Are Still Enforced in India

Dowries have a long history in many parts of the world. Many Americans associate the idea of ​​dowries with Shakespeare and his era. That's a historical mistake. The custom of paying a dowry survives to this day in India.

A 1961 law prohibited payment of dowries in India according to both civil and criminal laws. Neverheless, the custom of paying a dowry - or of the husband demanding the payment of a dowry - is still very much alive all over India. Omitting a dowry may be the new wave among developed city dwellers. The vast majority of Indians do not live in cities and prefer to follow their ancient customs. As far as these people are concerned, both husbands and wives find fault with the law and try to ignore it. Enforcement of the new law is both spotty and unpredictable.

Dowries are gifts given by the parents of the bride on the occasion of a marriage. Sometimes the parents do not have the dowry in place on the occasion of the marriage, so they can be given extra time to finish their arrangements. In a technical sense the dowry is considered property of the wife. But commonly it is considered and treated as the husband's property.

The 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act violates the request, payment or acceptance of a dowry "as consideration for the marriage" . That is, it is outlawed to demand a gift be given as a prerequisite for a marriage. Asking for or giving of dowry can - in principle - be punished by imprimination. But that's not the way things occurring in the real world. Almost no one is imprisoned for violating this part of the law.

In a significant number of cases the wife is actually killed by the husband or his family when the dowry is considered insufficient or paid excessively late. This is known as a ' dowry death ,' and is reported to this day in newspapers and the media regularly. Exact statistics are hard to collect, partly because everyone from the husband, his family, the police and the courts hide or fake numbers and reasons. It is not unreasonable to think that even in the 21st century thousands of wives each year suffer dowry deaths.

Prior to actually committing the act of murder for a defective dowry many wives are subjected to harassment ranging from minor to quite severe. The murderer, whether a husband or member of his family, is liable to be jailed for a period of seven years to life. The application of this part of the law is very irregular from province to province. A lot of perpetrators expect to be let go without any punishment - and a lot of courts oblige them and do not issue any meaningfulful punishment.

A 1983 revision of the law made people - the husband or his family - who engaged in harassing the wife for a dowry subject to imprimementment. In principle, when a wife reports to the police that she is being harassed, the police have no leeway. They must arrest the proposed offending party. The accused offending party has few rights or options. There is no penalty for making a false claim. There are claims this law is being canceled because it lets an accuser walk away scot free even for a false claim.

There is social research which supports both the husbands 'cases and the wives' cases that the 1961 and 1983 laws are being misused. Advocates for wives claim husbands and their families get away with murder - literally - in some cases because police and judges treat these cases lightly. Husbands claim at least a third of the claims are false, causing much damage to the accused.

Source by Noo Yawka