"Any young man who makes dowry a condition for marriage discredits his education and his country and dishonours womanhood" mahatma gandhiji
The system of dowry prevalent in india is not of a recent origin. This social evils has plagued the society since ancient times. Bride price and dowry have been the member of the same family, often going hand in hand wherever giving and taking are involved in a marriage transaction.
Dowry refers to “the property, money, ornaments or any other form of wealth which a man or his family receives from his wife or her family at the time of marriage. Dowry is both a practice and a problem with Indian marriage"
Dowry as " Modern sati "
⏺️Upper class - upper class go for dowry due to affluence.
⏺️Middle class - middle class go for dowry due to status.
⏺️Lower class - lower class go for dowry due to compensation.
Dowry is a socio- structural phenomenon- Dowry varies from caste to caste and from region to region. It varies depending upon urban, rural, caste and family background. Variations in social structure, in terms of caste, class, ethnicity, religion, region and culture, result in variations of the system of dowry.
Ethnologist says dowry as a means of hypergamy ( upward mobility ), within a society that practices endogamy and arrange - marriage as a cultural norm. Dowry Is found in socially stratified monogamous societies that are economically complex and where women have a relatively limited role in the labour force. Dowry payments as a product of hypergamous marriage. Dowry is considered as an essential part of hypergamy among high caste/ status families.
According to the model, bride price is typically the payment a husband owes a bride's parents for the right to her labor and reproductive capabilities, while the dowry is the payment for a groom for his social status and earning capacity. The model suggests that dowry existed in a socially stratified, monogamous, and economically complex society, in which women have a relatively limited role in the labor force.
Rao's - theory of 'marriage squeeze' considers demography as the main component in dowry increase and inflation.Thus, the theory states that the common practice of men marrying younger women in combination with the overall population growth has resulted in a surplus of potential brides in the marriage market, which led to dowry inflation.
Social causes of Dowry system
1.Social structure - manifestation of the patriarchal nature of the society, women are being considered as a burden on the family.
2.Social constraints - to marry within one caste or clan further intensifies the problem.
3.Growth of education, salaried employment, migration to cities and towns.
4.Societal pressure - status by the amount of money one spends on thier daughter marriage.
5.Illiteracy - lack of education and awareness among people.
6.Legal Lag - legislation has failed to produce the desired results in our society.
7.In the wake of sanskritisation, the lower castes imitated the practice of dowry. Even, the poor borrowed money to give dowry.
8.Aspiration to marry in high and rich family.
9.False notion of social status - few people give more dowries just of exhibit thier high social and economic status. Janis and rajputs for examples spends lakh of rupees in the marriage of thier daughters just to show thier higher status.
10.The black money and unaccounted earnings of the rich classes
Sexual Exchange Theory- According to Sexual exchange theory men place more value in attractiveness and women place more value in resources. Dowry serves fundamentally as a price to "equalize" the imbalance in the value of marriage, and as a form of compensatory transfer based on the combination of traits of the bride, groom and their respective households
Functionalism is less relevant in explaining the phenomena of dowry. The practice of dowry does not necessarily serve any specific function to the larger system. Some studies, however, suggest that dowry may serve some function of benefiting families by making their daughters’ life better or by helping their upward mobility,
Social consequences of Dowry system
1.Objectification of women - now dowry as like investment by the bride family for plugging into powerful connection.
2.Gender discrimination - women are seen as a liability and are often subjected to subjugation.
3.Crime against women - it leads domestic violence, physical abuse and dowry death.
4.Declined social status and self-esteem of women.
5.Social maladjustment of parents and adopting social corruption.
6.Femalw infanticide and psychological suppression of the girls
7.Family conflict and conjugal disharmony.
8.Child marriage - for an educated girl, the more educated and qualified husband is needed. This necessities greater dowry . Thus the parents prefer ealry marriage than to do so at a later age with higher demand of dowry.
9.Deteriorating financial status of bride family and promotes mismatch marriages.
10.Dowry leads to some immoral practice - for example - how the father of three little girls sold his kidney just for the sake of getting some money which would secure his daughters future marriage.
11.Dowry system makes imbalance in the sex ratio and effect on the female education.
