In India, dowry practice is a part of marriage. A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride’s family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. This practice is followed in most parts of India, though it is made illegal by the Government of India through the legal act.
Though it is made illegal, Indian people resort to the practice of dowry. The price of the dowry varies on different parameters, like the groom’s job, family background, the type of caste they belong to, and the area of residence where the groom’s family resides.
We call dowry a social evil. It was expected that as there was an increase in the education level of girls, the practice of dowry would be declined. But it didn’t happen. On the contrary, we find this practice more proliferating. So, our expectations that educated girls would oppose the practice of dowry are defeated.
The question is raised, why doesn’t the girl oppose the dowry practice? The answer may lie in our patriarchal system.
In our patrilocal system, when a man marries, his wife joins him in his father’s home, where they raise their children. Girls usually observe through their surroundings that when she marries and leaves her parent’s home, she is emotionally compelled to give up her share in the property of her parents. So to get a share in another way from the ancestral property, she does not oppose the dowry.
To conclude, it is not the fault of the girl, but it is the fault of our social system, which does not encourage our girls to oppose the evil practice of dowry.
