Dowry System Essay

500+ Words Essay on Dowry System

Marriage is a beautiful relationship between two people where they are bonded by love and begin their new life together. In India, there is a custom of giving some gifts either in cash or gold or both before and after the wedding to the bride and the groom out of affection. It is considered as love and blessings for the newly wedded couple that help them in starting their new life. However, during the last three or four decades the Dowry System has become associated with the status of a family. Now, it has become compulsory to give money and gold to the groom’s family. This has given birth to the dowry system. In this essay on the Dowry System, we will highlight the points related to dowry in marriage and how it has affected our society. Moreover, at the end, we have discussed some steps to be taken to stop the dowry system.

Dowry System

Dowry has been conveniently defined as money, goods or estates, which a woman brings to her husband’s home after marriage. The system of dowry in marriages has been haunting our society for a long time. This is a social curse, which has gone unchecked, though time and again it has tormented people in general. Lust for money and acquiring high social status for one’s family has given birth to the social evil called Dowry. It has become the root cause of suicides and murders of brides. Bride burning for want of dowry has become a way of life. Different communities have different marriage customs, but the custom of giving dowry is shared by all the communities.

The dowry system is a great evil that still exists in society. It is an act of discrimination against unmarried girls, whose values are defined based on the prices of their respective dowries. It is an example of greed and selfishness and is a great curse, especially for the parents who belong to the lower middle class. This is the reason why people get depressed and feel cursed at the birth of a daughter. Moreover, the dowry system paves the way for other crimes against women like female foeticide, female infanticides, dowry death, cruelty by husband and his relatives.

How Can the Dowry System be Stopped?

A dowry system is a social stigma that needs to end. Every girl should go to her in-law’s house with pride. In India, every 5 out of 10 families face the dowry system. There are many laws made by the government but the custom of dowry persists in our society. So, there is an urgent need that we all start taking action against it. The first step is to start from our homes. At home, we should treat both boys and girls equally by providing them equal opportunities. We should educate both of them and give them freedom to be fully independent. The upbringing of the girls should not be limited to household work and marriage. In fact, they should be nourished in such a way that they feel free to make their choice, put their demands, ask questions, think openly and have the guts to fulfil their dreams.

There is a need to create awareness campaigns in different sections of society to make people aware of it. The campaign includes voluntary organization, civil marriage, launching of the youth movements etc. Eradicating the dowry practice will give equal rights to women and boost their confidence level. It will help in the growth of the family, society and nation. The sooner the dowry becomes a thing of the past, the better for our society.