A young woman’s recent suicide in Ahmedabad must jolt our conscience and nudge us to correct course
We are living in the 21st century but it seems, for a majority of women in India, we are still living in ancient times when a woman’s worth was quantified by the amount of dowry she brought along at the time of marriage. What else can explain the shameful fact that when women are going into space, working as scientists and leading countries and global bodies, young women in our country are forced to end their lives because they are unable to bear the harassment meted out by their husbands and in-laws over “inadequate” dowry? The latest in the long line of victims of a despicable and archaic system, which was abolished and criminalised in India in 1961, is a 23-year-old woman from Gujarat who ended her life by jumping into Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati river. Before dying, she shot a video and made an impassioned plea to all Muslims for ending the dowry system as “it is illegitimate and forbidden”. Though the woman’s husband was arrested for abetting her suicide, and many prominent leaders from the community have condemned those who take dowry and asked people to end this social evil, it will not bring the woman back.
Dowry is a blot on our society and country where we worship goddesses and women are considered the incarnation of Lakshmi and Durga. It is a shame that in a nation whose Prime Minister has given a clarion call for “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”, our daughters are either killed or forced to commit suicide over dowry. The National Crime Records Bureau’s 2017 report is an indication of the gravity of the situation as India recorded nearly 7,000 dowry-linked deaths. Also, dowry deaths rose from 19 per day in 2001 to 21 per day in 2016. As usual, the fingers will point towards weak law enforcement and non-implementation of laws, but the fact remains that the laws are adequate to end this malaise. The Supreme Court recently made it abundantly clear that it will not tolerate harassment of women for dowry. It is we, the people, who have to change. Parents must educate their daughters and stop seeing them as a burden. If you have a self-reliant daughter with good education and a job, you don’t have to pay someone for her upkeep. Women, too, should refuse to marry men who seek dowry. It is only when the parents and women grow a spine that this evil practice will end. Don’t expect anyone else to come and help you. This Women’s Day, do take a pledge to help yourself.