Girls, Be brave, say no to dowry

WORLD Malayalee Voice joins the bandwagon in making a clarion call exhorting prospective brides to say a vehement No to the dowry demand being made by the groom’s side.

WMV is also concerned about the frequent deaths - either murders or suicides – being reported in Kerala, even among the highly educated or the so-called elites.

In the latest incident, Dr Shahana, a postgraduate student at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, was found dead in her apartment on December 4.  According to the police, the 28-year-old resident doctor in the surgery department died by suicide. 

Dr Shahana’s family was willing to give 50 sovereigns of gold, properties worth Rs 50 lakhs and a car as dowry to her senior from college, who had proposed to her. However, with the prospective groom and family demanding more and then eventually walking out of the wedding, Shahana was heartbroken, according to her family. (According to media reports, their demand was 100 sovereigns of gold, 50 acres of land and a BMW car.)

A note believed to be her suicide note lamented that people were only bothered about money.

The prospective groom Dr EA Ruwais “wanted the dowry demanded by his parents. He backed out," said Dr Shahan’s brother.

Following the incident, the police took Dr Ruwais, the former president of Kerala Medical Postgraduates Association (KMPGA), into custody in connection with the death of Dr Shahana. 
Ruwais has been charged with abetment to suicide and violations under the Dowry Prohibition Act.
In May 2022, the Kollam Additional Sessions Court sentenced Kiran Kumar, a dismissed state government employee, to 10 years in prison for torturing his wife Vismaya for dowry and driving her to die by suicide.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday (Dec 7) said that girls or women should have the courage to say 'no' to those who ask for dowry. He was reacting to the suicide of Dr Shahna.

The Chief Minister said: "The whole society needs reformation. Society also has a responsibility to act against the dowry system. The law should also become stronger, and the government is working on it." 

As many as 13,479 cases were registered in 2022 in India under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data that was released on Monday, December 4. 

At the same time, 6,450 dowry deaths were registered in 2022. While there has been a marginal decline in the number of dowry deaths and cases registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act, the figures are still cause for concern. 

There has been a 4.5% decline in the number of dowry deaths in 2022 and 0.6% decline in the number of cases registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961. The highest number of dowry deaths in 2022 happened in Uttar Pradesh with 2,218 incidents, followed by Bihar (1,057) and Madhya Pradesh (518). 

Uttar Pradesh was leading in the number of cases registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 as well with 4,807 incidents. The second highest number of cases registered was in Bihar (3,580) followed by Karnataka (2,224). 

The total number of dowry deaths in the southern states amounted to 442 with Karnataka in the lead (167), followed by Telangana (137), Tamil Nadu (29) and Kerala (11). Meanwhile, the total number of cases from the southern states registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 is 2,776. Karnataka had the highest number of incidents with 2,224 followed by Andhra Pradesh (298), Tamil Nadu (220), Kerala (28) and Telangana (6). 

According to the NCRB data, 359 dowry deaths were closed as there was insufficient evidence despite the complaints being true. Meanwhile, five deaths were transferred to a different agency or a state 4,148 cases were charge-sheeted during the year. 

It is to be noted that the NCRB report underlines that the data record the incidence of registered crime, not the actual occurrence of crime.

Let us nurture and groom the girlchild to be brave enough to stand against social evils like dowry. Let us stand against such savage mental torture of defenceless young girls.

Considering the damaging consequences, it is high time prospective grooms also stood against this evil practice.