Essay on Dowry system :

“Wife killed by Husband”, “In-Laws Beat the Bride Up”, “Wife Bruised and Sent to Her Father’s Home”, “X’s Business is Marriage“

— such headlines are not uncommon in today’s dailies. Being interested in the message, as we read the first paragraph of the report, we discover that it all has happened because of the existence of the dowry tradition in the society. The monster of dowry has so far killed hundreds of innocent, helpless brides dissolved thousands of households, tormented and bereaved innumerable children. The accursed practice of dowry has characterized marriage as rather a commercial transaction, a dirty source of income. 

Now-a-days bridegrooms are auctioned in the open market. The shameless hands of the bridegroom as well as of his parents are eagerly longing for more and more unearned income from the helpless parents of the bride to satiate their indomitable avarice. Its consequences, no doubt, have been seen to be worse than those of bribery. Now-a-days the most helpless man on earth is a poor father with one or more daughters, especially ones who do not look nice enough.

With the passage of time, however, laws have been enacted and enforced prohibiting the practice of dowry. Yet nothing has been satisfactorily effective. After all, laws can only restrict people’s behavior but cannot influence their intention. Again, there is nothing more pleasurable to a daughter- burdened father than to be able to get his daughter a husband. Thus both partiethe givers and the takers—have kept this perilous practice in vogue.

Don’t Forget to Check: Essay in English

But how did this barbarian demon get introduced into our society? As far as our country is concerned, the root cause dates back to centuries to be found in the Hindu tradition of marriage and inheritance. Traditionally, girls in the Hindu families do not deserve to inherit any paternal property. The whole share of a father’s wealth goes to his son or sons, Consequently, the daughters are compensated by being granted a lump sum of money and other assets, known as dowry, at the time of their marriage. The intention behind this system was noble, after all, but its aftermath has proved to be destructive. Since there was in the very beginning no specification as to how much each daughter shoul be given, the real beneficiaries of the daughters’ wealthie their husbands or would-be husbands, had an opportunity to bargain about their wives’ shares. This eventually created the present-day connotation that we give to the word “dowry”.

Dowry system essay

So, frankly speaking, this practice has not only damaged the Hindu society but also has influenced and envenomed the Muslim society in our country. And we have already seen the consequences.

At this point, it must be emphasized that demanding dowry on the part of a would-be husband is as abominable as depriving a daughter of her inheritance on the part of a father. But this is another issue necessarily related to dowry but need not be discussed with dowry per se.

Whatever measures are needed to take care, however, being taken by the government. Yet, the desired outcome, that is, the eradication of the dowry system, has not been accomplished. Why is that? Surely the solution lies somewhere else. Most of all, we all should be considerate enough. Only the mental and emotional development on the individual level can ensure a good solution. Accordingly, we all should remember that most of us have daughters and/or sisters in our families.

Dowry System Essay- 2

Essay On Dowry System -Introduction: Dowry is a commercial transaction paid to a husband by his wife or wife’s side in return of marriage. It is, in fact, an unlawful system prevailing in today’s society. It has become very difficult to find a suitable match for a girl without payment of a huge money as dowry.

In the past: In olden days, it did not prevail in society. But today, to marry off a girl for any parents cannot be imagined without it, albeit is a social and religious curse, it is difficult to remove in case of getting one’s daughter married. In the case of educated and well-placed girls, the situation is sometimes worse. The parents of well educated and highly placed boys demand a large amount of dowry both in cash or kind. If their sons happen to be officers or high officials, they demand such a large amount as is called astronomical cost. No religion permits this system of dowry.

Curses: Dowry system is a great evil that afflicts the nation in our country. It is discriminatory against women in general. It reflects an undue domination of men, gender, prejudice and exploitation of women. Dowry system has ruined the lives of women and families. In case of their failure, they are burnt alive, tortured brutally, harassed and abused to bring more and more money, jewelry, white goods, costly furniture etc. Highly educated and well-off husbands conspire with their parents against their newly married wives and subject them to untold persecution and humiliation to have more dowry. The parents of a bride are forced to pay money, jewelry a dowry to the bridegroom and his family. The devil of the dowry is very strong and does not easily admit any defeat. It has taken a very heavy toll of female life. Dowry is a social curse. It gives nothing to society. But at present, the whole world has turned itself into a global village in terms of space and time. The immortal and vile custom has turned us all into an object of ridicule in the eyes of the civilized nations of the world. Dowry has generated corruption, terrorism, black money, greed, rapaciousness, maliciousness, other financial malpractices, and various psychological complexities. Most people condemn dowry in public but encourage or demand in private. Dowry also degrades a man to the level of beasts.

Demerits: Dowry system reduces the social status of women like that of the daily commodities which can easily be bought and sold. It is too great an imprecation for poor parents to afford to bear this. For this purpose, they are to beg, borrow, take loans on the high rate of interest, indulge themselves in committing corruption or nuisance acts to manage the dowry money for their daughters. Many babies are seen killed, put into dustbins, left uncared beside the roads to get relief of the curse of dowry. The daily newspapers publish two or three incidents of dowry daily with pictures.

Eradication of dowry: The dowry system needs an immediate eradication. The mere utterance of removing this dowry system will not do. It is regarded as an extreme example of greed, selfishness, degeneration and social curse. So proper steps for eradicating dowry from the soil of the country should be taken. Both penalty and fine should be imposed upon the indulged and greedy persons. The bridegroom must sign a form not to demand dowry in any case. The marriage of unemployed young men should strictly be prohibited. He should deposit a large amount of money for the girl whom he will marry. The parents of girls should be made adamant and conscious by creating awareness among them. Severe and exemplary punishment should be meted out to all those who indulge themselves in it. The considerate people must come forward and start a crusade against this evil and unlawful system. The parents should persuade their girls or daughters to mend their ways. They should refuse to marry off their daughters if there be any demand or, the question for dowry.

Conclusion: Dowry is not a blessing but a curse for the parents of the bride. Proper steps against it should, of course, be taken in order that it can be erased or removed.