Tanya Bansal, Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur
ABSTRACT
It is time we see gender as a spectrum rather than two sets of opposing sides. In today’s world, nothing is beyond one gender or another. Yet, despite the steps society has already taken towards gender equality, there still remain certain factors which hinder this development and pose a threat to the growth of the society as a whole. One of these factors are the cultural evils that plague the society, and the loopholes in law which unwillingly let them continue. These evils often hide behind the curtain of customs and culture, and then rear their ugly heads when the people are least aware of it. One of the major opportunities for these evils to come forward is the “Grand Indian Wedding”. This is where most of the malpractices prevalent in the Indian society originate from. One such social demon is ‘Dowry’ or ‘Dahej Pratha’, where the bride’s family is supposed to give wealth under the garb of gifts to the groom’s family. The demon of dowry is the initial point of the cycle of other marital evils such as domestic violence, marital rape and ultimately, the most heinous, dowry death. The Government of India has put efforts to secure the position of a woman in her marriage and the society as a whole through many legislations like the Dowry Prohibition Act, The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, the amendment through which women got the right to inherit parental property in the Hindu Succession Act and many more along with the Judiciary. However, there are still many loopholes in these legislations which if the person looks for can exploit. Hence, how do we manage dowry, the root cause of all this oppression levied to women? This paper, will therefore strive to analyse the socio-legal implications of dowry, its history as well as its original purpose.
