According to the latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), dowry related matters accounted for the lives of 19 women every day in India in 2020.
A total of 6,966 cases of dowry deaths were reported in 2020 even as number stood at 7,141 in 2019 and 7,167 in 2018 respectively. In all, as many 10,366 cases were registered under The Dowry Prohibition Act in 2020 against 13,307 cases in 2019 and 12,826 cases in 2018.
The cumulative figures suggest that many women continue to be victims of the dowry related matters.
The supreme court of India recently observed that domestic violence in India is rampant and several women encounter violence in some form or the other or almost every day. However, the top court underlined that it is the least reported form of cruel behavior. A woman resigns her fate to the never ending cycle of enduring violence and discrimination as a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a partner or a single woman in her lifetime, the top court noted.
This is happening despite the fact the progress of any society depends on its ability to protect and promote the rights of its women.
As per the top court, the “non-retaliation” by women coupled with the absence of laws addressing women’s issues, ignorance of the existing laws enacted for women and societal attitude makes the women vulnerable.
The women still being forced to take extreme steps for dowry or harassed in contemporary times should enrage one and all. Above all, the entire society should rise above the occasion and let the home be a place that does not imperil lives and breeds the most drastic forms of violence perpetrated against her.
As per law, women who die within seven years of marriage must be autopsied. There is also a need for awareness as the official figures of dowry deaths remain just the tip of the iceberg. A clearer picture would emerge with more awareness. When nothing is heard about it, it does that mean it has vanished. The grim aspect remains when it becomes so entrenched that no one thinks it to be worth talking about. The women still being forced to take extreme steps for dowry in contemporary times should enrage one and all. There is a need to address the demand. Simplicity in marriages is the need of the hour. Daughters’ need education and opportunity for financial independence. The dowry is illegal and continues to be so for decades. Drastic changes are needed to kill dowry and not her.
