Is Dowry a Cause or an Effect ??
Nishank
As a continuation to the update on formation of AID NCR Women Rights e-group, we are looking forward for inputs from AID volunteers, regarding their perception on the issues surrounding women rights, ranging from Dowry, Female Foeticide, Neglect of girl child, Subjugation of women in Indian society, etc.
This is an important step for us, before going forward, as we need to be in the same boat for understanding the gravity of the issues, and consequently the actions required henceforth.
Apart from discussing different issues in isolation, whether Dowry or Female Foeticide, we also need to reflect over, as in what are the root causes behind it.
Is Dowry a Cause or an Effect of the suppression of women in Indian society??
Do Female Foeticides happen in India only because of fear of dowry or also because it is assumed that men are more fit to carry forward the "family names" in the next generation in an existing male dominated society??
A study shows that India aborts 500,000 female foetuses a year, and since 1976 up to 10 million female foetuses have been selectively aborted in India. (Source: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/01/09/indiababies060109.html ).
As mentioned in a news article in The Hindu, the author says, " No right is more basic than the right to be born rather than be killed because you are going to be a female. The rapid growth of female foeticide tells us how far away India has moved from its Constitution’s vision of gender equality.
In a collection of research studies on female foeticide edited by Tulsi Patel, eminent demographer Ashish Bose has called the phenomenon a signifier of ‘civilisational collapse.’ The most depressing aspect of Tulsi Patel’s volume is the evidence it provides us to appreciate that the growth of female foeticide is linked to rising literacy, prosperity and modernisation, not poverty and backwardness." (Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/09/stories/2008090956041000.htm )
We need to realize that many of the gender issues, which we may shrug off, saying that it is mainly prevalent in rural and backward areas, may be present in much more heinous forms among the urban and educated families.
As quoted from another news article "The census figures illustrate that it is some of the richer states of the country where the problem is most acute (of declining sex ratios) such as Punjab, which has only 798 girls, Haryana 819, Delhi 868 and Gujarat 883 girls per 1,000 boys." ( Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1161618 )
Kindly let us know your views surrounding gender issues and the probable root causes behind it. Once we have reached some consensus on it; we can plan further action steps to be taken.
Thanks and regards,
Nishank
&
Prachi
P.S.: Please join the e-group for AID NCR Women Rights at http://groups.google.com/group/aid-ncr-women-rights for being part of the further discussions.
Prachi Aggarwal
From: Aparna Bhatia <aparna...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 12:04 PM
Subject: Re: [Volunteer] Is Dowry a Cause or an Effect ??
To: "Nishank ." <onlyn...@hotmail.com>, prachi aggarwal <prachiag...@gmail.com>
Hi Nishank/ Prachi,
Here is what I feel and know :-
Somewhere government is also supporting patriarchal society for eg. :-
1. In Government / PSU jobs, girls can add their parents in dependents list after marriage. She can only add her spouse/kids/parent-in-laws. This will also include medical facilities.
In a way government is also supporting to have atleast one boy child. So that someone should take care of you in old age after retirement.
2. You can withdraw you PF or take loan for your daughter's marriage and not you son's marriage.
Again in very subtle way, government is supporting dowry system.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks & Regards,
Aparna
All the latest on four wheels and more Get it now.__._,_.___Volunteer responsibility code: http://www.aidindia.org/resources/AIDVolunteerResponsibilities.pdf![Yahoo! Groups]()
.![]()
__,_._,___
prachi aggarwal
We made this group because we all want to challenge the existing
system. So guys lets not sit quiet, and do something about it. I would
really appreciate if everyone will just pour in their opinion and
ideas on the same.
p.s Please read the email sent by Nishank in the same thread.
Thanks
Prachi
On Mar 19, 10:33 pm, Prachi Aggarwal <prachiaggarwa...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Aparna Bhatia <aparna.bha...@gmail.com>
> Date: Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 12:04 PM
> Subject: Re: [Volunteer] Is Dowry a Cause or an Effect ??
> To: "Nishank ." <onlynish...@hotmail.com>, prachi aggarwal <
> prachiaggarwa...@gmail.com>
>
> Hi Nishank/ Prachi,
>
> Here is what I feel and know :-
>
> Somewhere government is also supporting patriarchal society for eg. :-
> 1. In Government / PSU jobs, girls can add their parents in dependents list
> after marriage. She can only add her spouse/kids/parent-in-laws. This will
> also include medical facilities.
> In a way government is also supporting to have atleast one boy child. So
> that someone should take care of you in old age after retirement.
>
> 2. You can withdraw you PF or take loan for your daughter's marriage and not
> you son's marriage.
> Again in very subtle way, government is supporting dowry system.
>
> Please correct me if I am wrong.
>
> Thanks & Regards,
> Aparna
>
> On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 1:31 AM, Nishank . <onlynish...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
>
> > As a continuation to the update on formation of *AID NCR Women Rights*e-group, we are looking forward for inputs from AID volunteers, regarding
> > their perception on the issues surrounding women rights, ranging from Dowry,
> > Female Foeticide, Neglect of girl child, Subjugation of women in Indian
> > society, etc.
>
> > This is an important step for us, before going forward, as we need to be in
> > the same boat for understanding the gravity of the issues, and consequently
> > the actions required henceforth.
>
> > Apart from discussing different issues in isolation, whether Dowry or
> > Female Foeticide, we also need to reflect over, as in what are the root
> > causes behind it.
>
> > *Is Dowry a Cause or an Effect of the suppression of women in Indian
> > society??*
>
> > *Do Female Foeticides happen in India only because of fear of dowry or
> > also because it is assumed that men are more fit to carry forward the
> > "family names" in the next generation in an existing male dominated
> > society??*
>
> > *A study shows that India aborts 500,000 female foetuses a year, and since
> > 1976 up to 10 million female foetuses have been selectively aborted in
> > India. (Source:
> >http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/01/09/indiababies060109.html).*
>
> > As mentioned in a news article in The Hindu, the author says, *" No right
> > is more basic than the right to be born rather than be killed because you
> > are going to be a female. The rapid growth of female foeticide tells us how
> > far away India has moved from its Constitution’s vision of gender equality.
>
> > In a collection of research studies on female foeticide edited by Tulsi
> > Patel, eminent demographer Ashish Bose has called the phenomenon a signifier
> > of ‘civilisational collapse.’ The most depressing aspect of Tulsi Patel’s
> > volume is the evidence it provides us to appreciate that the growth of
> > female foeticide is linked to rising literacy, prosperity and modernisation,
> > not poverty and backwardness." *(Source:
> >http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/09/stories/2008090956041000.htm)
>
> > We need to realize that many of the gender issues, which we may shrug off,
> > saying that it is mainly prevalent in rural and backward areas, may be
> > present in much more heinous forms among the urban and educated families.
>
> > As quoted from another news article *"The census figures illustrate that
> > it is some of the richer states of the country where the problem is most
> > acute (of declining sex ratios) such as Punjab, which has only 798 girls,
> > Haryana 819, Delhi 868 and Gujarat 883 girls per 1,000 boys."* ( Source:
> >http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1161618)
>
> > Kindly let us know your views surrounding gender issues and the probable
> > root causes behind it. Once we have reached some consensus on it; we can
> > plan further action steps to be taken.
>
> > Thanks and regards,
> > Nishank
> > &
> > Prachi
>
> > *P.S.: Please join the e-group for AID NCR Women Rights at
> >http://groups.google.com/group/aid-ncr-women-rightsfor being part of the
> > further discussions.*
>
> > ------------------------------
> > All the latest on four wheels and more Get it now.<http://autos.in.msn.com/>
> > __._,_.___
> > Reply to sender<onlynish...@hotmail.com?subject=Is+Dowry+a+Cause+or+an+Effect+??>| Reply
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>
> - Show quoted text -
Anupam Roongta
- Villagers go online to marry without dowry: 8th March 2010, Under a joint collaborative between the panchayat and a women’s right NGO, a website has been launched in a village in south India that exclusively promotes dowry-free marriages. It also serves as a window to form interactive online communities on issues ranging from marriage customs to gender justice.
- Anti-Dowry Campaign by AID - USA chapter: I could not find much detail on this campaign on the AID website. May be we can contact the US chapter and get in touch with the project coordinators. They can share their experiences which might help us give a shape/structure to our campaign.
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Nishank
Thanks for sharing these links.
The 1st link is quite informative, though it also highlights a distressing picture of dowry related marriages even in a fully literate state like Kerala.
Regarding the 2nd link, some more detail about that campaign can be found at http://www.indiatogether.net/women/dowry/campaign.htm. Basically in the AID US Conference in 2001, an AID Women Rights Cell was formed and in May 2002 they launched an Anti-Dowry Campaign. However, this couldn't sustain for long due to various reasons, including lack of sufficient involvement on the part of volunteers. I had discussed with other AID volunteers in US about an year back, if this campaign could be revived but there was a lukewarm response.
Moreover, Aravinda (an AID Jeevansaathi), who was one of the key-initiators of this campaign, mentioned this in the AID Forums (http://forum.aidindia.org) about why the campaign couldn't sustain.
I offered some possible explanations .... key volunteers leading the effort moving to India and not keeping up contact, decline of the yahoo group (partly due imho to cross-posting and spam) , and also major emergencies that exhausted our volunteer resources such as communal riots in Gujarat, Tsunami. Also that those who took initiative in the anti-dowry campaign were the same people who were working actively in Narmada, Bhopal, Farmers' Crisis, and several other major issues which demanded our time and energy.
Dowry is a hard issue because it means changing something about ourselves, our attitudes, our lifestyles.
It is easier to cite the above reasons but there is also something about the rising consumerism, changing demographics of AID volunteer base, changing forms of dowry, sexism ... that demands our introspection as well
I can ask her to be a part of our group, so that she can provide a better guidance to us.
Interestingly, few years back, many of the AID volunteers in US were also contemplating of starting an AID Matrimonial Website, which would promote NO DOWRY, NO CASTE (AND NO RELIGION) marriages.
The idea was to build a platform where volunteers come ahead and connect with like minded volunteers to take a stand on NO DOWRY marriages and at the same time promoting more inter-caste marriages among the AID volunteers (being the change).
However, the website couldn't take off, because the people pushing for the site were not potential beneficiaries. ( i.e. already married volunteers).
May be something can thought on this direction too in the future.
Best regards,
Nishank
+91-9910137929
~~Promote Adoption: Shared Love matters more than Shared Blood~~
Prachi Aggarwal
From: Priyanka Tomar <priyank...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 10:30 PM
Subject: [Pehal] Re: Pehal Is Dowry a Cause or an Effect ??
To: pehal...@googlegroups.com
Hi all,
As a continuation to the update on formation of AID NCR Women Rights e-group, we are looking forward for inputs from AID volunteers, regarding their perception on the issues surrounding women rights, ranging from Dowry, Female Foeticide, Neglect of girl child, Subjugation of women in Indian society, etc.
This is an important step for us, before going forward, as we need to be in the same boat for understanding the gravity of the issues, and consequently the actions required henceforth.
Apart from discussing different issues in isolation, whether Dowry or Female Foeticide, we also need to reflect over, as in what are the root causes behind it.
Is Dowry a Cause or an Effect of the suppression of women in Indian society??
Do Female Foeticides happen in India only because of fear of dowry or also because it is assumed that men are more fit to carry forward the "family names" in the next generation in an existing male dominated society??
A study shows that India aborts 500,000 female foetuses a year, and since 1976 up to 10 million female foetuses have been selectively aborted in India. (Source: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/01/09/indiababies060109.html ).
As mentioned in a news article in The Hindu, the author says, " No right is more basic than the right to be born rather than be killed because you are going to be a female. The rapid growth of female foeticide tells us how far away India has moved from its Constitution’s vision of gender equality.
In a collection of research studies on female foeticide edited by Tulsi Patel, eminent demographer Ashish Bose has called the phenomenon a signifier of ‘civilisational collapse.’ The most depressing aspect of Tulsi Patel’s volume is the evidence it provides us to appreciate that the growth of female foeticide is linked to rising literacy, prosperity and modernisation, not poverty and backwardness." (Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/09/stories/2008090956041000.htm )
We need to realize that many of the gender issues, which we may shrug off, saying that it is mainly prevalent in rural and backward areas, may be present in much more heinous forms among the urban and educated families.
As quoted from another news article "The census figures illustrate that it is some of the richer states of the country where the problem is most acute (of declining sex ratios) such as Punjab, which has only 798 girls, Haryana 819, Delhi 868 and Gujarat 883 girls per 1,000 boys." ( Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1161618 )
Kindly let us know your views surrounding gender issues and the probable root causes behind it. Once we have reached some consensus on it; we can plan further action steps to be taken.
Thanks and regards,
Nishank
&
Prachi
P.S.: Please join the e-group for AID NCR Women Rights at http://groups.google.com/group/aid-ncr-women-rights for being part of the further discussions.
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Aakanksha Singh
Prashant Bhatt
Hi Aakanksha,
I too agree that dowry is not only the reasons for female feticide:
Few months back I went so many places around India and talked with many peoples about different issues. I think few reasons of female feticides which abet to people for this:
1. Social structure:
a) Many parents don’t want girl child because as per our old customs (in most of cases)
boys are responsible to take care of their parents.
e.g. “Budhape ka sahara to banega……” this is very much required for a poor
family who can not save enough money for their older age.
b) Old mentality that the son is the only source for carrying their dynasty.
2. Dowry
3. Its tougher to take care of girl child because only giving birth to a child without proper care is also crime. (Increased crime rate against women): Even after increased strength in police forces, NGOs, new acts for women empowerment, advancement in technology, education etc. Some studies say crime against women has increased around 800% from 1953. Number of missing women count is 30-50 millions only in India. Few big reasons are ignorance of crime, try to avoid ourselves approach, side effect of globalization, easy access of pornographic sites, legalization of prostitution, legalization of enslavement in few countries.......is increasing market for organized crimes also; result is in last few years there is rapid increase in human trafficking hubs, shifting of organized crime towards human smuggling, Only Forced prostitution market is more then 42 billions. This is attracting to corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, judges etc to involve in that. Its like a runaway situation. This is increasing pressure on families with poor and weak family background who have seen such cases around them.
Definitely a big social reform is required. And AID campaign is a great initiative towards that.
Best Regards
Prashant
A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH ONE STEP.
Prashant
Shilpa Singla
I believe that once there is a system in place, it is not literacy or
prosperity that can help overcome it. In fact it is not at all
surprising that with increasing prosperity the cases of female
foeticide increase - people need access to at least the minimum
resources to be able to find their way up in the existing system. And
literacy is not enough to fight a system, it is only a tool to grow
within the system. It is difficult for even well-educated people to
challenge the dowry system or address gender inequality. To step out
of the system and challenge its drawbacks there is a need for minds
that are motivated to bring about a change. To imbibe this attitude
and culture in the society is not an easy task.
It is, however, encouraging to see that there are people thinking
about these issue and motivated to act on it. The best way to deal
with the situation now, as I understand, is to create a culture where
female children and women become important. The increasing access to
monetary support for women in the form of loans for business and
entrepreneurship is an excellent way of promoting the involvement of
women in the workforce at every level. This creates a trend of having
women as earning members in the society. At the same time women must
be motivated to come out and support their own families to come across
as integral members of the family.
As for preventing female foeticide, it is important to create
incentives for people to raise female children. One aspect of it is
creating awareness about how the foeticide is wrong and it is a moral
imperative for the society to eradicate such practices. This
awareness, especially in geographies that have shown increased cases
of female foeticide, may be able to attach a social stigma to such
practices and hence reduce it prevalence. The other way to incentivise
people to raise female children is to offer financial support for
raising a female child and her education to prepare her for a work
life. If government and non-government organization together offer
numerous such programs, then this along with the social awareness can
gradually create a culture in which women are treated respectfully and
given more importance than they are now.
The cause of the supression of women may have been many for years but
the challenge we face now is to overcome the culture of supression of
women that has been created. My two cents.
On Mar 18, 3:03 pm, Nishank <onlynish...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> As a continuation to the update on formation of *AID NCR Women
> Rights*e-group, we are looking forward for inputs from AID volunteers,
> regarding
> their perception on the issues surrounding women rights, ranging from Dowry,
> Female Foeticide, Neglect of girl child, Subjugation of women in Indian
> society, etc.
>
> This is an important step for us, before going forward, as we need to be in
> the same boat for understanding the gravity of the issues, and consequently
> the actions required henceforth.
>
> Apart from discussing different issues in isolation, whether Dowry or Female
> Foeticide, we also need to reflect over, as in what are the root causes
> behind it.
>
> *Is Dowry a Cause or an Effect of the suppression of women in Indian
> society??*
>
> *Do Female Foeticides happen in India only because of fear of dowry or also
> because it is assumed that men are more fit to carry forward the "family
> names" in the next generation in an existing male dominated society??*
>
> *A study shows that India aborts 500,000 female foetuses a year, and since
> 1976 up to 10 million female foetuses have been selectively aborted in
> India. (Source:http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/01/09/indiababies060109.html).*
>
> As mentioned in a news article in The Hindu, the author says, *" No right is
> more basic than the right to be born rather than be killed because you are
> going to be a female. The rapid growth of female foeticide tells us how far
> away India has moved from its Constitution’s vision of gender equality.
>
> In a collection of research studies on female foeticide edited by Tulsi
> Patel, eminent demographer Ashish Bose has called the phenomenon a signifier
> of ‘civilisational collapse.’ The most depressing aspect of Tulsi Patel’s
> volume is the evidence it provides us to appreciate that the growth of
> female foeticide is linked to rising literacy, prosperity and modernisation,
> not poverty and backwardness." *(Source:http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/09/stories/2008090956041000.htm)
>
> We need to realize that many of the gender issues, which we may shrug off,
> saying that it is mainly prevalent in rural and backward areas, may be
> present in much more heinous forms among the urban and educated families.
>
> As quoted from another news article *"The census figures illustrate that it
> is some of the richer states of the country where the problem is most acute
> (of declining sex ratios) such as Punjab, which has only 798 girls, Haryana
> 819, Delhi 868 and Gujarat 883 girls per 1,000 boys."* ( Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1161618)
>
> Kindly let us know your views surrounding gender issues and the probable
> root causes behind it. Once we have reached some consensus on it; we can
> plan further action steps to be taken.
>
> Thanks and regards,
> Nishank
> &
> Prachi
>
> *P.S.: Please join the e-group for AID NCR Women Rights athttp://groups.google.com/group/aid-ncr-women-rightsfor being part of the
> further discussions.*