The death of 26-year-old Nikki Bhati, who was allegedly burnt by her husband and in-laws at their Greater Noida residence, has shaken the nation. Seeing the victim's six-year-old son narrate the ordeal, civil society across the country is demanding justice, with the National Commission of Women taking suo motu cognisance of the case.
Such a horrific crime against a woman in no less than the National Capital Region raises several uneasy questions about the fear of law. True, over the years, efforts by governments and NGOs have certainly enhanced awareness about dowry being an evil practice, but it continues to haunt and destroy innocent girls and their families.
A Deep Rot
Though Nikki stayed in the NCR, she didn't have sufficient access to social support systems to address her concerns. That's true for many others like her. For decades, societal attitudes have belittled and normalised dowry-related violence and discouraged victims and their families from seeking help. Men consider it their right to subjugate women and keep seeking dowries despite long years of marriage.
Even Nikki's father, while appealing to the government to give harsh punishment to the perpetrators, lamented, "I educated my daughters. Nikki studied in DPS. What's the point of spending so much money on daughters' education and marriage, if they are killed so young in such a ghastly manner?"
Every Statistic Is A Woman
This is not just Nikki's story. On average, in 2020, more than 19 young women died every day due to dowry-related harassment. Every year, in the 2017-2022 period, an average of 7,000 cases of dowry deaths were reported across the country, according to the National Crime Records Bureau data. Of the 25,743 received by the NCW in total in 2024, as many as 17% (4,383 cases) were related to dowry-related harassment (while 24%, that is, 6,237 cases, pertained to domestic violence). There were 292 complaints of dowry deaths. Even these are just conservative estimates, as many cases go unreported.
A string of dowry-related deaths has taken place just this year. In Uttar Pradesh, a woman was burnt alive when her family failed to meet repeated demands of dowry; another woman died of torture as a hot iron was pressed against her body parts. In Chandigarh, a young bride committed suicide after being tortured for dowry.
Southern India, though a tad better, has also witnessed dowry-related deaths. In Tamil Nadu, two cases of women's suicide due to dowry harassment were reported. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have also reported dowry deaths.
Thus, the illegal practice not only survives but thrives in India despite strict laws. Existing legislation has failed to protect women from this scourge or instil fear among those demanding it.
The Most Notorious States
Most of the dowry deaths in India have occurred in the eastern and northern states. West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh (in central India) account for 80% of all dowry death cases filed in the 2017-2022 period. Notably, these states are among the most economically backward ones in India, with low literacy rates, compared to the southern and western parts of the country.
Cities, too, don't lag behind in dowry-related cases. NCRB data available for 19 cities reflect that 30% of all the dowry death cases were filed in Delhi in the 2017-22 period. The capital city was followed by Kanpur, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Patna.
Law No Bar
Legislative actions, such as the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 and some sections in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), have failed to save or provide justice to the daughters of our country. The NCRB figures also point to low conviction rates in dowry-related cases. Of the approximately 6,500 cases sent for trial every year, only around 100 have led to convictions. Over 90% of the remaining stay pending in courts at various stages. Haven't the courts of India failed these women miserably?
Fear, Shame Rule Here
A large number of victims of dowry-related harassment face barriers in accessing support systems. As women, we are conditioned since childhood to keep our traumas private, lest society mock us. Even parents, in a lot of cases, don't intervene or come to the rescue of their 'married' daughters if they're subjected to cruelty in their conjugal home. So, calling a helpline or legal redressal remains out of bounds for even many of our educated women. The lack of effective mechanisms for reporting and addressing such crimes further undermines the efficacy of existing laws.
But that's not all. These days, certain sections have started citing 'abuse' of anti-dowry laws by women to settle personal scores. After a few recent cases, certain men's rights groups have been demanding that India's matrimonial laws be made gender neutral and Section 498A, related to cruelty by in-laws and dowry-related harassment, be scrapped. Many of these groups blame rising suicides among men on apparently "false" cases filed by women. Sure, this may be true in some cases. But the fact remains that most often, it is women who suffer and bear the full brunt of cruelty and harassment, and of society's silence.
(The author is Contributing Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
