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Protecting Daughters from Gender Discrimination and Dowry System

What is dowry? Casually, some of us find this as a traditional custom of bribing the groom and their family by bride's parents to get rid of their daughter. Or some of us may consider this as buying of groom by bride's parents through a bidding process.

We as a part of Indian society are infamous for dowry and its related offences. When a daughter is born, most of the Indian families don't find that joy a son could have given them. Some of them get depressed after finding out the gender of newborn baby. Having a daughter is a burden to them, mostly, because of the social phenomena like dowry. We make noise and protest against corruption. But we never go through its roots and make substantive changes to uproot it. What is the reason for the corrupt officials to take such risks? The dowry is not the "only" but a good and considerable reason to hoard money through corrupt practices.

No media has more reach to our society than Bollywood movies. In the plethora of crap and nonsensical movies, some movies have a good and long-lasting impact on our society. The film Piku, although was not about dowry but raised a very important question about the role of women in taking care of their parents when they grew old. It was an inspirational story about a girl who sacrifices her dream of marriage so that she could take care of her father who is a patient of constipation, a big problem indeed! The girl makes her father's dream her own and fulfils every small wishes of him.

When we try to deal with problems such as population control and gender discrimination, we will also have to deal with the role of females in looking after their parents. Because only then, it won't matter whether a girl or a boy is born in a family, and parents can be satisfied with their only girl child. We all know that remaining single during entire life cannot and should not happen to a girl as marriage is a very important aspects of their life. We need to work on an alternative solution.

Sanjay Aggarwal and Mansi Aggarwal, a childless couple, are a resident of Karol Bagh in Delhi. Sanjay rose from rural background and succeeded in becoming a PWD officer. I know him as my friend's neighbour. He tells us story about how people left their newborn girl child under a flyover in Delhi which he finds out during inspection. The NGOs working against female foeticide take them to the rehabilitation center. Sometimes they live sometimes they don't. He made several contacts with the NGOs working in the welfare of child, women and society. He occasionally visits the rehabilitation center, watching the abandoned girls to grow up. He treat them as their own daughter and that is why he single handedly paid for the dowry of five girls and contributed about ₹50,000 to marry more than two dozen girls. It doesn't mean he is promoting the dowry cult but he did that because he know that the roots of this custom is very deep seated into our society. It will take some time for people to understand the perniciousness of dowry. Until then he urges people to take responsibility of some girls who are unable to pay the price for getting married.

The government is also taking steps to safeguard the female foeticide and dowry related offences. The Prime Minister's Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme also encourage people to educate and empower girls without any discrimination. These kind of programmes educate and inspire people to have a girl child without the any fear which is the need of a constructive society.

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  1. Harsh Wardhan Jog6 January 2016 at 15:43

    This curse is as old as Hindu society. Ram & other kings being offered dowry is well known & accepted.Last funeral is written about & accepted that it be performed by male child. The prejudice is very deep & can not easily be wished away.

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    Replies
    1. Amitesh Gupta6 January 2016 at 20:52

      You got it right "The prejudice is very deep & can not be wished away easily." That is why every step taken to restrict this should be appreciated! Thanks for your views regarding this!

      Delete

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