The recent deaths of several young women under suspicious circumstances in the homes of their in-laws, seemingly motivated by dowry demands, show that despite stringent laws, awareness campaigns, women’s empowerment and education, the needle has not moved very much on eliminating this menace.
Take, for instance, the Twisha Sharma case. Sharma’s mother-in-law, who spoke disparagingly of Sharma following her death, is a retired judge. Thus, questions are being raised about key institutions likely influencing the investigation into Sharma’s death — from alleged mishandling of evidence by the police and discrepancies in the FIR to the delay in finding and arresting the husband — weakening public faith in the impartiality of the law.
According to 2024 data from the National Crime Records Bureau, 5,737 dowry deaths were reported that year. Uttar Pradesh tops the list, followed by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. Among cities, Delhi tops the charts and Bengaluru too has a high incidence of harassment related to dowry. Even states like Kerala that pride themselves on their literacy and women’s education are not inured from the social acceptability of this practice. There are sure to be many more women who have either suffered horrific injuries or have died by suicide because of dowry pressures but which have not been reported.
The very idea of dowry suggests that a woman’s parents have to compensate her in-laws for taking her into their home. So, the in-laws feel emboldened to raise demands. Once the parents give in, the demands become blackmail, with the daughter as the hostage. Ranjana Kumari, director, Centre for Social Research, says, “Greed for money, rationalised as a customary practice in the form of dowry, has become a death sentence for many young brides. It is not merely an individual tragedy for women; it reflects a deep collective social failure. Despite stringent laws, society has failed to achieve eradication of dowry.”
Often, parents become silent participants by not acting in time to protect their daughters. This silence, social conditioning, and fear of stigma continue to strengthen the cycle of dowry-related abuse and deaths.
Parents are mostly aware that their daughter is suffering in her marital home, but she is told to “adjust”. They send their daughter back to her marital home when she seeks support, knowing well that the demands and abuse will not stop — all to maintain their so-called honour in society.
There is no safe haven for women once dowry enters the picture. Parents who see visible signs of abuse but send their daughters back are also culpable of not reporting dowry harassment. Such is their financial and social investment in the marriage that they feel that they have to somehow make it work.
Women must get a safe space to go to when they suffer dowry abuse. There are State-run homes, but these are hardly the first choice for an already traumatised woman. Political parties talk about their commitment to nari shakti; they should campaign to fight societal pressure on families to marry off their daughters. Dowry cases only generate outrage in rare cases. The anger over the recent cases will die down soon enough. But, many women will still be in danger from all the evil rooted in the practice.
The views expressed are personal
