2.  Dowry or Dahej is the money, goods, or
estate that a woman brings to her
husband in marriage.
 The practice of giving Dowry is very
common in the Indian and South Asian
cultures.

3.  The family of the bride gives the groom
and/or his family dowry to ensure that
their daughter will be well taken care of.
 Dowry is a form of assurance that the
bride will be well treated. If not, it can be
revoked.
 In the event that the husband dies, the
wife will be financially stable through
inheritance of the dowry she paid.

4.  We can date the history of Dowry as far
back as 1700 BC when the Code of
Hammurabi was written.
 This code stated that in the death of her
husband or through divorce, the wife
would receive back the Dowry that she
paid to him.

5.  The initial role of dowry was to financially
provide for the bride because she was
moving into a joint family with the groom.
 Women were not allowed to work and earn
a living outside of the home, so dowry was
suppose to serve as her income and her
contribution to the home.

6.  As times have changed, Dowry is now
considered a way for a groom and his
family to extort money and gifts from the
bride and her family.
 Families often go broke because they are
unable to supply the Dowry to the groom.
 Majority of these women come from poor
to middle class homes in which their parents
save for years in order to provide Dowry to
the groom.

7.  Dowry death is the death of young
women either by murder or suicide as a
resort of inability to provide more dowry
to her husband and his family.
 The most common form of dowry death
is “bride burning” in which the bride is
doused with gasoline or kerosene and
set on fire. This is usually done by the
groom or his family.

8.  These women committed suicide by
hanging or poisoning because they
could no longer endure the harassment
and torture they were being subjected
to by their in-laws and groom.

10.  According to the Indian
National Crime Records
Bureau(NCRB) there
were approx. 6787
reported dowry deaths
in India in 2005.
 The NCRB also reported
that there were 2,276
female suicides related
to dowry in 2006 which
amounts to 6 deaths per
day.

13.  Hinduism is the
predominant religion in
India. Giving of Dowry is
a tradition and ritual
observed in Hindu
marriages.
 Arranged marriages in
India are a common
cultural practice.
 The Hindu religion states
that marriage is a sacred
relationship and consist
of dharma(obligatory
duty) and samskara
(sacrament).

14.  In July1961, Indian officials created The
Dowry Prohibition Act which prohibits the
demand, receipt, or payment of dowry in
marriage.
 In this act, any gifts viewed as a
precondition for marriage were punishable
and illegal
 Punishment for receiving or giving dowry is
imprisonment up to 6 years and/or a fine of
5000 Rupees or the amount of dowry which
was paid (whichever is more).

15.  In 1986, this penal code was inserted into the
Dowry Prohibition Act stating if a woman is
burned to death or dies due to(unnatural)
bodily injuries within seven years of her
marriage this case will be investigated as
dowry death.
 If it is proven that these women were tortured
or harassed soon before her death groom and
his family would be considered suspects and/or
implicated in the cause of her death(deemed
dowry death).
 Punishment can range from seven years to life.

16.  Despite the Dowry Prohibition Act and
Indian Penal Code(304b) dowry and
dowry death are still occurring in India.
 Although dowry death maybe
investigated convictions are slim to
none.
 The accused party states that their”
beloved bride” is dead as a result of a
kitchen fire.

17.  Female feticide is the act
of death on a female fetus
 Many Indian families are
forced to result to feticide
because they cannot
afford to pay dowry when
their daughter becomes of
age to marry.
 In the Indian culture ” No
dowry, No marriage” is a
common term.
 If these women did not get
married she would be a
disgrace to her family and
shame their name.

19.  Indian Brides and their families are the ones
who suffer from the Dowry system
 As a result of inability to provide (more)
Dowry, they are often
killed, harassed, tortured or commit suicide.
 The extremely poor to middle class are
affected by the Dowry system
 The groom and his family benefit from
receiving Dowry and may kill the bride in
order to remarry and receive dowry from
another bride(and her family).

20.  Women Organizations, legal
amendments, media support , special
police cells for women and protest are
all ways people are trying to end the
Dowry system in India.
 Despite their attempts dowry still
continues to be a social norm in the
Indian society, thus dowry deaths
continue to rise.

23.  Based on what I have learned, it appears
that the dowry system in India will continue
to be practiced.
 Women’s lives will be continue to be
jeopardized and in the hands of her groom
and his family
 Women must make a stand to refuse to pay
the dowry and the Indian Government must
make every attempt possible to prosecute
and investigate every dowry death
reported.

24.  Ankur, 2006. Dowry death in one of the worlds most dynamic cities. Indian Daily[online] June
29,2006. Available from:
http://www.indiadaily.org/entry/dowry-death-in-one-of-the-worlds-most-dynamic-cities/
[cited 8 May 2009]
Banerji, R., 2007. Roopa is only one of thousands of dowry victims. Flickr[online]
September 23.2007. Available from:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rita_banerji/1427495100/
[cited 12 May 2009]
Das,S., 2006. Centre seeks report on Orissa female foeticide issue. Kalinga Times[online]
2006. Available from:
http://kalingatimes.com/orissa_news/news/20070725_female_foeticide_issue.htm
[cited 13May 2009]
Marc. 2009. Dowry :stay away from it. Osocio[online]January 21,2009. Available from:
http://osocio.org/category/woman_issues/
[cited 12 May 2009]

25.  2009.Dowry death. Wikipedia[online] March 9, 2009. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry_death
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2009. Dowry. Wikipedia[online] 2009. May 7, 2009. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry
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Caleekal, A.,1997. Dowry death.Digitalism[online]Available from:
http://digitalism.org/artdoc/ddeath.html
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2000-2004.Dowry in India. Indianchild [online]2000-2004. Available from:
http://www.indianchild.com/dowry_in_india.htm
[cited 10 May 2009]
2009. Hinduism. Wikipedia[online] May 11,2009. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
[cited 13 May 2009]
2008. Hammurabi’s code. Biologyonline[online] October 21,2008. Available from:
http://www.biology-online.org/articles/medical-laws-ethics-babylon-read/figure.html
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