Dowry murders have become a major problem in India’s society today. The physical violence on a bride and financial strain and stress on the family of the bride is outrageous. Everyday Dowry death cases all over India are reported. Dowry murders were banned in 1961 but the ban was never enforced. The number of dowry deaths is still rising today because the law against dowry is not enforced. Dowry is still happening in most Indian families. In India people like to stick to traditions even if it is illegal. The tradition of dowry murders has been carried on for decades. In India’s society today, Indian women are becoming more independent and India’s older generation and men do not like the fact that women of India are gaining more rights and more freedom.
Dowry is a tradition that runs throughout all of Indian society. Dowry is a tradition that the groom and his relatives demand cash, jewelry and other luxuries from the bride’s family. Upon marriage, the daughter is given household appliances for dowry such as furniture, TV’s, refrigerators and even clothing, cash and jewelry. It was given to show love and affection from the bride’s family and to ensure a joyful and happy life after they are married. The rich viewed dowry as a status symbol, but for the poor it is a sense of honor. Some people would say dowry is a curse for Indian society and disrespect for women in this situation. This tradition is a burden on the bride’s family but the groom and his family get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The value of the dowry depends on the job the groom has at the time “ranging from 250,000 yen to 5 million yen or more in a country where a basic graduates salary starts from 6,250 yen” ( Women In India).When there is an arranged marria...
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...g women are coming out of sheltered existence…” (Escalating Violence). Slowly but surely women are branching out and becoming more powerful every day. Tradition is slowly fading away as the older generation dies out and the younger generation brings in the new.
The people of India like to stick to tradition even if that tradition is illegal and cruel to the women of India. In modern India it is common for young women to die from a dowry death. But Indian women are also becoming more independent today. They are going to college to further their education and moving around freely with men in and getting jobs like normal people. The older generation and some men in India’s society today do not like this. They do not like the fact that women are coming out of there sheltered lives and becoming more free to do as they please and carry on lives as normal people.
Within the earliest of civilizations of India, pre-pubescent girls were offered to men as wives, which ultimately lead to the destruction of women’s domestic independence. As said in Document 1, “because girls married before they could finish their education, they were not qualified to perform ritual sacrifices. Furthermore, wives’ legal rights eroded.” Likewise, Indian women became politically subordinate to men. However, by modern standards, women’s social
The social normality of the world is that men are required to be strong, determined and career driven, but for women, they ought to be weak, acquiescent to their male counterpart, and domestic. As of late, women have been acting against this stereotype. Rather than being complacent, women are beginning to stand in solidarity and dismantle the patriarchy that reigns over the nation. With this new-found empowerment for women, countless obstacles in the form of other social groups, particularly men, face them, working against women from allowing true equality to be achieved. Women in literature and media are beginning to be portrayed as women in power, something that was a rarity to previous generations. Contrary to traditional feminine gender
The wife 's desires for a girl also can be unselfish in their eyes by saying they are protecting them from a life of poverty since they had not yet had a son who could provide their prosperity. “Dowry deaths” are also an age old tradition that is a custom for the religion. But with the heavy problem of gendercide, the government outlawed the use of a dowry. But since tradition is so heavy and rich it still happens. The families want to live up to expectations and even if it is not “required” it still looks good for a family to compensate the other in a social standing. The problem with this is that they still see females as burdens even though there is no requirement to provide a dowry. It is the age-old tradition to give a dowry that is hurting the females. The old ways need to be adapted, and the culture itself needs to understand that it is okay not to provide a dowry. This is the only way change for females can come and ensure them a success and longevity in their
Narayan’s article raises many questions about third world issues are perceived by western bodies. In her article, Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, and Third World Feminism, she looks at the “‘effects’ that national contexts have on the construction of feminist issues and the ways in which understandings of issues are then affected by border crossings across national boundaries” and how culture is invoked in explaining the forms of violence that stem from these issues (p.213). She explains this phenomenon by focusing on dowry murder in India. Dowry murder has caused a large outcry and shock, even on the path of the author. But there is a certain shock that stems from western individuals, which tends to ‘exoticize’ and reinforce the notion of the other regarding Indian culture. She refers to Elisabeth Bumiller’s novel, May You be the Mother of a Hundred Sons: A Journey among the Women of India, and she narrows her focus down to chapter three “Flames: A Bride Burning and a Sati.” The author provides a context for understanding her story, in which she mentions a brief account of the mythological Goddess Sita, who threw
Gender-based violence is made possible by the ideology of sexism in Indian traditional culture which argues that women are worth less than men in the sense of having less power, status, privilege, and access to resources that is more prevalent in middle class and low caste families.
In countries such as India and China there is an increase of anti-female bias (BBC Ethics Guide, 2014). Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of female babies mainly due to an imbalance of the sexes in these countries. Economically males are more valuable females. Males earn more than women and they are more employable, thus they are less likely to be killed. In many countries parents depend on their children to care for the in their old age. However, if a girl marries there is no way she can care for her parents, whereas men is seen as a gain for parents in their old age. Girls are thus seen as an economical waste especially in large families with low incomes. Dowries are the transfer of parental property when a girl gets married. By killing baby girls parents do not have to worry about dowries (BBC Ethics Guide,
...the hardest goals to accomplish, as cultural beliefs and values are often set in stone and cannot be changed instantaneously. Changing rigid gender stereotypes could take many years, so it is imperative that solutions be implemented over the long-term. Women should continue to be educated, and people should work towards a greater share in household responsibilities among families (24). A more holistic approach is needed, and social support for rural women should also be enhanced (24). Furthermore, it is essential that responses to the matter are culturally sensitive; for instance, divorce is often not a viable option for many women in India who fear being stigmatized by their communities. Overall, researchers should continue to conduct further studies in order to understand the roots of family violence in India, and work towards eradicating the issue altogether.
“Arranging a Marriage in India” by Serena Nanda is a well written, informative article aimed at sharing the view of the Indian culture on arranged marriages and also showing how much effort is put into the process of arranging a marriage. Our own culture has evolved into accepting the fact that we are all independent individuals who could not imagine having someone else make such a significant decision for us. Serena Nanda does an excellent job of using her sources within the society as evidence of the acceptance of the arranged marriage aspect of their culture.
Growing up in a traditional Punjabi family with both of my parents being born and raised in India has been an experience that I can only fully comprehend now at the age of twenty-three. Realizing how backward our culture is when it comes to women’s equality among family and society is an astonishing thought. Even though there is more gender equality here in America than in India within our households the women are still subjected to live and serve the men of the house. This custom has become almost an unconscious thought, to think of Punjabi women living in a traditional family more than a maid or babysitter would be blasphemous and heretical talk.
In modern day India, women are held to a higher standard. Yes, woman typically are supposed to cook for the family and basically keep everyone in check; but in India the
...adder, achieve economic security, accumulate material wealth.” Due to the avarice of consumer greed, the custom of dowry has disseminated to communities and social classes that normally do not engage in those practices. Furthermore, the nature of consumer greed facilitates the need to demand more dowry since dowry is representative of the social and economic status of both families and the extent to which their family co-exists in India’s caste system. Unfortunately, because of patriarchal attitudes, the bridegroom and his family have greater bargaining power and are typically the ones who set the dowry rates. In addition, the economic model used to calculate the dowry takes into account the bridegroom’s education and future earning potential while the bride’s education and earning potential are only relevant to her societal role of being a better wife and mother.
After marriage, more of these values are expected to be carried on is the way the family decisions are made and the ways things are done. The male is known as the authority figure in the family. An Indian woman has to abide be what the men say and basically allow him to run the show. This does not say that he has no responsibilities, because that is wrong be all means. He has a responsibility to support the family and show the children how to work the fields and support the family.
Female foeticide has become a disgraceful and shocking reality of this nation. For centuries, families across many parts of India have look upon the male child as the superlative of the two sexes. A male child is seen as a blessing in the Indian society and since years people have made lavish offerings and numerous prayers in hopes for getting a son. These beliefs continue to remain even though times have changed and now much of the inequality is reducing. The Indian society recognizes a insightful faith in every individual’s right to life and dignity but this rights are dishonored when it comes to women and children in this society. A difference in a society’s ideal values and its reality is defined as a social
In today’s globalized world, women’s studies is emerging as a fast growing discipline which is not restricted any more to the academia but is significantly capturing the attention of the civil society. The way civil society responded to “Nirbhaya” gang-rape case of December, 2012 in Delhi; the way people came on the streets in protest against this horrific and barbarous crime committed against a 23 year old woman; this people’s movement has undoubtedly engineered the emergence of a new consciousness among us about the need for a realization of women’s honour and dignity in the society. There have been serious debates on the issue of whether more stringent laws (in the line of Shari’a law) be implemented in our Indian society so that such heinous crimes against women can be prevented. However, the aforesaid incident is only one among many hundred other such crimes happening everyday in almost every corner of the globe. Many such incidents of crime are either suppressed or do not come to limelight. The following analysis is a humble attempt to deal with the status of women (especially in Islam) in a globalized world.
Amanda Hitchcock. 2001. “Rising Number of Dowry Deaths in India.” Annual Editions: Anthropology 11/12, 34th Edition. Elvio Angeloni. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.