Rubina Dahal

Simply, an amount of money or property that a bride brings to her husband on their marriage is dowry. Historically, this practice was willingly followed by the parents of the bride in many parts of the world, but now it is being forcefully demanded in numerous places. It was prevalent mainly in wealthier families. But unfortunately, it has not spared even ordinary families at present. It is true that a young man may require financial support to settle his life and fulfill his needs. But it should not be an excuse to seek dowry from the family of bride.

This social evil has a long history in South Asia, Africa, and even in Europe, China and many other parts of the world. But in the present context, it is one of the major problems of South Asian countries, including Nepal. Dowry has become an integral part of weddings in Nepal regardless of caste, class, geographical location, culture or religion. It is deeply rooted in the Terai region where it also becomes a cause of domestic violence. There are many instances in which a wife has been tortured to the extent of committing suicide for not bringing enough dowry.

According to the data provided by Nepal Police, as many as 141 cases of dowry-related violence were reported within the last four years. A total of 58, 32, 32, and 19 cases were reported in the fiscal year 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, and 2020/2021, respectively.

In 2019, a young girl got married in Siraha. In the beginning, everything seemed fine, but soon her in-laws started asking for even more dowry, which her parents were not able to afford. Things got worse and her mother-in-law killed her by slitting her throat at midnight.

Articles 29 and 38 of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015 ensure the Right against Exploitation and Rights of Women as a fundamental right. It has provided that no person shall be exploited in any way and no woman shall be subjected to physical, mental, sexual, psychological or other form of violence or exploitation on any grounds.

Similarly, Section 174 of the Criminal Code, 2074 has the provision of prohibition of transacting property in marriage. So the person shall have imprisonment, fine or both if he acts against this section. Nepal has also signed international treaties like UDHR, ICCPR, and CEDAW which aims to address the rights of women and establishes equality between men and women but cases relating to the violence to women have not decreased.
Weak governance and patriarchal mindset, poverty and illiteracy are the main causes of the prevalence of dowry in our country. This practice has created hindrance to social progress and prosperity to the extent that even people don’t want to have a baby girl in this modern time.

Thus, it is time to spread women’s education to fight against the dowry practice. Women must be empowered. In my case, my parents are investing money in my study, rather than collecting for dowry and it must be done by every parent to eradicate this social evil from our society. Every girl has her own identity and she is free to choose the way she wants to live her life.
Let’s say no to dowry. Can’t we start this from our own family?