Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site cornell.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!shah From: shah@cornell.UUCP (Frank Rhodes) Newsgroups: net.nlang.india Subject: Re: More thoughts on Dowry Message-ID: <1265@cornell.UUCP> Date: Fri, 18-Oct-85 11:13:43 EDT Article-I.D.: cornell.1265 Posted: Fri Oct 18 11:13:43 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 19-Oct-85 08:07:21 EDT References: <770@hou2d.UUCP> Reply-To: shah@cornell.UUCP (Frank Rhodes) Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept. Lines: 54 Summary: Last few weeks have seen a number of articles on the subject of dowry. While we all have expressed our indignation at the existence of such a system, I felt that the postings so far have failed to put the problem in a proper perspective and viewed it only in isolation. The fact remains that dowry is only one of the many problems that women face in India today. Our social, political, economical and religious systems have generally promoted or maintained man-woman inequality, to the disadvantage of the latter. That dowry is such a hot topic of discussion is due to the fact that it manifests itself in rather heinous form of dowry-deaths and that we are asked very embarrassing questions about it by our non-Indian friends here!. (I personally find rape and wife-beating to be more severe crimes against women as they leave permanent scars, whether physical or mental, on the victim; at least in a dowry-death the agony does not last forever. But rape and wife-beating happen in almost all societies, not just in India! In fact the US constitution turns a blind eye to violence in the family under the garb of not intruding in the private lives of the citizens!!) What I found disconcerting in the articles posted before were the suggestions and solutions to eradicate dowry: some suggested that the groom must vow not to take dowry, even at the expense of incurring the wrath of his family, some suggested to make taking dowry `unfashionable', some even took recourse to Kaanchi etc. Shankaracharya! I think these solutions are ad-hoc at the best and parochial at the worst. What we must aim for an absolute equality between men and women, in all spheres of life. The question of treating the bride as a commodity would not arise in such a setting. This solution is difficult to achieve and may take long but in my opinion is the only solution. It will require that we radically alter our family, social, political and economical structures. Given the patriarchal system that we have, it will mean that the men will have more to `lose' in terms of their power over women. It's a pity that the feminist movement in India is weak and in a state of infancy; I don't know of many organisations, save a few in Bombay and Delhi, that fight for equal rights for women. I'd like to know more about it. Doesn't the fact that all the posters so far have been men say something about opportunities for higher education for women in India? I certainly wish that some women would also speak up on the topic. Cheers, amitabh' -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- Amitabh Shah ({decvax|ihnp4|uw-beaver|vax135|...}!cornell!shah) Dept. of Computer Science Cornell University Ithaca NY 14853. (607) 272-8782.