Dowry in India, Reasons, Factors, Impacts and Challenges

Context: Recent cases like the alleged dowry-related death of Nikki Bhati in Uttar Pradesh (2025) highlight how the age-old practice of dowry continues to endanger women despite decades of legal prohibition.

About Dowry

• Dowry, the practice of demanding money, property, or gifts from the bride’s family at the time of marriage, continues to be one of the deep-rooted social evils in Indian society.
• Despite legal bans since 1961, the practice survives across caste, class, rural and urban settings.
• In 2022, NCRB recorded 6,589 dowry deaths, which means on average, one woman dies every 80 minutes due to dowry-related violence.
• This reflects how dowry is not just a private family issue, but a societal problem linked to patriarchy, gender inequality, and caste dynamics.

Reasons/Factors behind Dowry Demands

Socio-Cultural Factors

• Patriarchy: Viewing women as economic liabilities and men as breadwinners.
• Marriage as a transaction: Dowry is seen as compensation for “bringing home” a wife.
• Caste & Community norms: Caste panchayats often legitimise dowry demands as tradition.
• Gender Inequality: From childhood, girls are socialised to prioritise family honour, while boys are considered assets.

Economic Factors

• Greed & Rising Consumerism: Families demand cash, gold, cars, or property.
• Low female workforce participation: Women’s limited economic independence sustains the belief that dowry secures financial stability.

Institutional Weaknesses

• Ineffective enforcement of laws: Low conviction rates discourage victims from reporting.
• Social stigma: Families avoid police/legal action, prioritising “honour” over justice.

Impacts of Dowry

• Violence Against Women: Women face harassment, beatings, marital rape, and in extreme cases, death.
• Female Foeticide & Skewed Sex Ratio: Families fearing dowry expenses prefer sons over daughters.
  • This worsens India’s sex ratio at birth (SRB ~ 929 in NFHS-5).
• Cycle of Debt and Poverty: Poor families often take loans or sell land to pay dowry, creating intergenerational poverty.
• Loss of Women’s Agency: Women cannot walk out of abusive marriages due to stigma and lack of financial independence.
• Perpetuation of Patriarchy: Dowry strengthens male dominance and normalises women’s subordination in marriage.

Challenges in Addressing Dowry

• Cultural Legitimacy: Dowry is often disguised as “gifts” or “stridhan”, making enforcement difficult.
• Community Pressure: Families avoid filing cases due to fear of dishonour within their caste or community.
• Patriarchal Institutions: Caste panchayats promote reconciliation instead of justice, sending women back to abusive households.
• Weak Implementation of Laws: Conviction rates under dowry laws remain low. Police often discourage complaints, fearing misuse debates.
• Stigma for Women: Women face double victimisation, social blame for marriage failure and lack of nuclear family support.

Measures Taken by the Government

Legal Framework

• Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961: Outlaws giving/taking dowry.
• IPC Section 498A: Cruelty by husband/in-laws is a criminal offence.
  • Replaced by BNS sections 85 & 86.
• IPC Section 304B: Defines “dowry death”; punishment: 7 years–life imprisonment.
  • Replaced by BNS section 80.
• Indian Evidence Act, Section 113B: Presumption of dowry death if a woman dies within 7 years of marriage.
• Domestic Violence Act, 2005: Broader protection against abuse in marriage.

Schemes & Campaigns

• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (2015): Aims to improve girl child status.
• National Commission for Women: Helplines, counselling, legal aid.
• State campaigns: Kerala’s Say No to Dowry, Haryana’s Selfie with Daughter

Way Forward

• Social Reform:
  • Mobilise youth, civil society, and women’s groups to challenge dowry as a norm.
  • Public campaigns like Say No to Dowry must be scaled nationally.
• Women’s Empowerment:
  • Improve female education and workforce participation.
  • Financial literacy, property rights, and skill development can reduce economic dependence.
• Community Engagement:
  • Involve caste and religious leaders to reform customs.
  • Panchayats must be sensitised to prioritise women’s rights over “honour”.
• Legal Strengthening:
  • Fast-track courts for dowry cases.
  • Better victim support systems – shelters, helplines, counselling, and legal aid.
• Behavioural Change through Education:
  • Gender sensitisation in schools and colleges.
  • Pre-marital counselling on equal partnership in marriage.
• Technology & Transparency:
  • Use online complaint portals for anonymous reporting.
  • Social media campaigns to create stigma against dowry seekers.

Dowry persists because it is socially sanctioned, culturally legitimised, and institutionally ignored. While India has strong laws, they remain ineffective without deep social transformation. To tackle dowry effectively, India must go beyond legal measures and foster social reform, economic empowerment, and behavioural change.

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