Dowry murders in India no longer spark public anger or debate, study finds | Global development

Even though thousands of women lose their lives every year, dowry deaths in India no longer spark public outrage as they once did, according to new research.

Murders involving women killed or driven to suicide due to dowry arguments between families have also been erased from political discussions despite the increase in cases.

According to the newspaper, there will be 6,516 dowry deaths in India in 2022, compared to 1,841 in 1988.

Last August nikki bhattiA 28-year-old from Greater Noida, a new satellite town outside Delhi, died of burns after she was set on fire by her husband in front of their six-year-old son in a case linked to a dowry dispute. When his murder was filmed and shared on social media, there was some online outrage and protests briefly broke out in Delhi before the backlash against the case lost momentum.

The author of the study is Dr. Kriti Kapila said: “Political protests are problematic around the world today. We have strong regimes, including in India, where protests are very much under control.

“The expression of dissent or dissatisfaction is controlled or self-censored,” said Kapila, a social anthropologist at the King’s India Institute, part of King’s College London.

According to the research, although dowry money has been prohibited in India since 1961, demands from the groom’s family continue and become widespread; Women who fail to provide dowry may face harassment, abuse and, in some cases, murder.

study Legal reforms aimed at dismantling caste hierarchies have changed the way dowries operate but have failed to dismantle the social structures that sustain them, he said.

Kapila said dowry was historically a ritual given to the groom’s family in exchange for adopting a daughter. Once outlawed, it turned into an “abusive demand” where grooms could “charge prices” based on caste, class, education and professional status.

He said the dowry had become “a premium for the son” based on his economic potential. When the bride’s family could not meet the exaggerated demands, the groom’s family could retaliate by using physical and psychological violence against the bride.

“The more pressing question is not why the anti-dowry law has not worked, but why the killings have stopped creating the collective pain that once brought thousands of women to the streets,” Kapila said. “This disappearance is not accidental; it has a structure.”

Violence related to dowry caused an incident wave of feminist activism In the 1970s and 1980s, when anti-dowry protests became one of the first mass movements organized by women in post-independence India.

However, the study revealed that this movement has weakened as the dynamics of dowry murders have changed. In the 1970s and 1980s, brides were increasingly killed in “accidental” kitchen fires staged using paraffin.

As paraffin or kerosene was phased out of homes in India in the 1990s, the “kitchen accident” excuse became less credible and hostile relatives increasingly led young brides to take their own lives.

Kapila said this transition turned public outcry and pain into “personal shame and sadness.” The paper argues that this prevented the social anger that had arisen earlier because “it became impossible to campaign against someone who had given himself the ‘gift of death’.”

The study also found that India’s 2001 census revealed a skewed child sex ratio, with a national average of 927 girls for every 1,000 boys, indicating that sex-selective abortion is becoming more common as a way to avoid future debts. in some part Number of girls in Punjab drops to 754 for every 1000 boys.

Kapila believes that the nature of violence within the family hinders social mobilization against murders.

“Anecdotally, I know people from different classes and castes do not feel regret about aborting the fetus because it is their daughter,” he said. “The effects are demographic. Fewer women, but also fewer sisters.”

The research was inspired by an exhibition of his photographs. Sheba ChachiDocumenting the women’s movement in India in the 1970s and 1980s.

Kapila was impressed by how distant the protests seemed today. “Although dowry continues to be practiced and remains fatal for many women, it is interesting that dowry deaths no longer spark any political debate or action,” he said.

“Women will probably find other ways to protest dowry deaths,” she said. “It’s hard to find challenge and solidarity around issues that challenge social norms. This is a reflection of a broader political moment.”