Bride Burning

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 BRIDE BURNING




Yes, it is as gruesome as it sounds. 


Yes, it is real.


Yes, a bride is doused with a flammable liquid and set alight.


According to Wikipedia, Bride burning is a form of domestic violence practiced in countries on or around the Indian Subcontinent. e.g India, Pakistan, Bangladesh e.t.c.


However, the highest number of cases are recorded in India.


You might be wondering, ‘ Why would anyone want to burn his bride?’


The short answer for this is MONEY.


So, a young woman is murdered by her husband or his family due to her family’s refusal to pay additional dowry. Hence, the common term ‘DOWRY DEATH’.


You might be wondering what a dowry is.


According to the Oxford dictionary, a Dowry is an amount of property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage.


Payment of dowries have long been prohibited in India (since 1961) yet families still pay and expect to be paid them.


Dowry harassment is a form of torture or abuse in an attempt to earn more money or goods from a wife’s family after marriage.


Bride burning is just one of the several forms of dowry harassment.


In  2020, 6,966 cases of dowry harassment were reported.That is about 19 cases per day. 


On the night of Monday, 24th of November, just four days ago, 21-year old Mofiya Parveen died by suicide.


In her suicide note,she levelled allegations of dowry-related torture against her husband and his family.


The only way to prevent similar occurrences is for families to stop paying dowries in a bid to elevate their social status.


Please share your thoughts on the dowry system.

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