SHAKTI STORIES

Dowry is the cultural practice of giving compensation to the bridegroom's family as consideration for an engagement. Essentially, the bride's family is paying the bridegroom's family for the marriage. Though the practice of dowry still continues in some areas today, it was outlawed in 1961. The practice of dowry can often be fatal, because brides were often killed for an "insufficient dowry". Under the Act, the bride was allowed to report the bridegroom's family for dowry harassment and guaranteed their immediate arrest. However, the law was amended in 2014 and arrests are now made with a magistrate's approval. The outlawing of dowry is significant because it was the reason many parents would abort their girl child. The child was viewed as a liability, because they would never work, and the family would have to pay exorbitant amounts of money to get her married. Though India's gender ratio is still skewed because of this, the Dowry Prohibition Act played a significant role in altering the cultural consciousness of Indians.