This is the culture of my loving INDIA
Her name was Padmavathi. She was 19, and was living in the southern Indian state of Bangalore with her new husband, Rangaswamy.
When they got married, Padmavathi’s parents had followed custom by supplying a dowry (money and presents given by a bride to her husband’s family). Padmavathi brought cash and jewelry worth Rs.95,000, a large amount in a country where the average yearly income is Rs. 20,000.
But Rangaswamy and his family weren’t satisfied. Soon after the marriage, they started demanding that Padmavathi give them more money and a motor scooter. She had nothing left to give, so her husband and his parents beat her. Finally, this January, they poured kerosene (fuel) over the young bride and burned her to death.
Dowries began as a way for Indian families to look after their daughters. Since daughters do not normally share in their parents’ wealth, some families would choose to help their daughter make a good start in married life.
Today, however, dowries have become a major social evil. Even though a 1961 law banned the practice (use) of dowries, demands for marriage payments and murders of newly-married women are increasing right across India.
I was suppose to post it in marriage section but it is related to culture, so here it is!!!
Nadeem
[This message has been edited by Nadeem (edited February 19, 2000).]
This is something India has to deal with it. Increase women education leading to economic opportunities for women will go a long way to solve this problem.
Meanwhile the criminals should be apprehended and dealt with very severely.
P.S. India is changing for the better under the laws of many Indian states men and women recieve equal share of inheritance.
[This message has been edited by Rani (edited February 19, 2000).]
I have heard horror stories of mistreatment of women in India and Pakistan. What do you thing is the cause of it? In my view its plain ignorance with a mimimal fear of legal lashback.
The sad thing is that these dark aspects of our society get pushed back and are not brought out in the open and dealth with as they should be. I know that authorities have started work on it but still more needs to be done.
The trouble is, these things happen in supposedly modern, educated and broad minded families too. I never cease to be amazed at the people I hear teling me it happened in their family. I think it will only happen when
1) girls get more and better education in every sense of the word- so they can stand up for themselves and don't feel they have to stick in unhappy marriages
2) parents move back and lets the young people make decisions that are their own - giving the bahu a right to be a person and not an appendage of their son.
Shirin i agree with what you say about girls given education but merely sending them to school wont do
the problem is that girls are sent to schools and educated however within their houses they are taught that they are “GIRLS”
they will get married and server their husbands
they should obey all males whether brother father or husband
they have to take care of family’s izzat
so with education parents are supposed to raise their daughters in such a way that they have total self confidence in themselves , are aware of their rights, and know where to say no
i know of a woman from a good family …a sister of five brothers
…she was taught well and she finally became a college lecturer
her father married her off to a ganwar insaan who saw no value of how educated his wife is but merely saw how much money she has
the poor woman suffered and suffered the injustices not telling her folks bout anything becuase she was told kay us ghar say ab tumhara janaaz hi uthay ga and that happened
at a mere age of forty the poor woman’s heart finally gave up
she had a massive heart attack and the husband simply chucked her off to the civil hospital where she was left on the bed for two days without any treatment and died
the husband remarried in two weeks
doesnt send the kids to their mother’s house because his fatherinlaw has refused to give him any more money gifts
i say if that woman was taught her rights …had the confidence to go up to her folks and knew that they will support her all the way instead of telling her to go back to her husband she would have been alive now