Dowry System is Curse - English Essay (1000 Words)

Dowry system is one of the major problems afflicting Pakistan. It is really a great evil and a blot on our nation and society. It is discriminating against women in general and unmarried girls in particular. It surely reflects man's domination and superiority over women. It is really a shocking and condemn able phenomenon. It is a matter of great concern that outdated and evil system of dowry still prevails in our society. It reduces the bridegroom and his parents to the status of beggars and exploiters and the bride's parents to that of helpless victims.

It is high time that the evils of dowry should be recognized and eliminated forever. Let us stop it before it becomes more and more painful social malady with the ever increasing demands of greedy and evil-minded parents. Here is no limit to greed and accumlation of wealth by such dirty means as demanding dowry from the parents of young and unmarried girls.

"The love of money is the root of all evils." _ Bible

The evil impacts of this social sin are many and quite obvious. It is because of this evil that hundreds of deaths and incidents of bride-burning are reported every year in our country. There are still many more cases which do not come to light at all. When they fail to bring in sufficient dowry, they are harassed, tortured burned live and humiliated by their husbands and in-laws. Such an evil is not heard to be found anywhere else in the world except our neighbour India which is also suffering from this social malady. It is matter of serious concern and extreme shame to all of us that most marriages are being settled on the basis of the value of dowry. The dowry of the bride usaully comprises jewelry, costly clothes, T.V, Car, scooter or motorcycle, furniture, V.CR, utensils, refrigerator and hard cash.

"For money you would sell your soul." _ Sophocles, Antigone

This wrong and immoral system has given birth to various evils in the society, namely corruption, greed, psychologocal complexes, financial malpractices and the generation of black money. The unprincipled parents of the groom try to justify dowry on the black money. The unprincipled parents of the groom try to justify dowry on the false presumptions that the newly married couple should be given dowry to set up a new home and to begin a new venture. But ironically, such people do condemn dowry when they have daughters to marry. This, we can say, is nothing but double standard. It is true that the system of dowry is as old as the institution of marriage itself. But now it has lost all relevance, both social and religious. As such, the sooner we eradicate it, the better it will be for our society, nation and country.

"All spirits are enslaved that serve things evil." _ Percy Bessie Shelly

In ancient times, a girl was not socially entitle to inherit any property. That was why, to compensate this loss, she was usually given some gifts in cash and kind by her parents, relatives, friends and well-wishers as a sort of dowry. These gifts were supposed to ensure a sort of future security to newly married bride. But now the situation has altogether changed. Today, women all over the world are ore or less enjoying equal rights. They have equal rights to inherit property from their parents and ancestors. Now giving or lreceiving dowry is a terrible blow to the very rights of women. The government should introduce a dowry prohibition act as soon as possible to punish those who are fond of dowry.

"Punushment brings wisdom. It the healing art of wickedness."

There are thousands of girls who have grown old and they are still married because their parents cannot afford dowry. They keep on waiting that, somebody would come and marry them without any demand of dowry. They never put out the glimmer of hope. But very frequently their hopes are dreams shattered due to the non-availability of dowry. The poor parents feel guilty and remain very much worried about the future of their daughters. They have no other option but to wait for some angle or miracle. Even well beautiful and educated girls of middle class or low middle class families find themselves the victim of this great evil. Some of them ultimately rebel the wrong way to fulfill their financial and physical needs. So, the evil of dowry, in a round about way, also gives birth to moral corruption in society.

"Corruption is a tree whose branches spread everywhere." _ Fletcher

There are thousands of cases of divorce due to this disgusting malady, but very few offenders are actually punished. In spite of all the laws and all the law-enforcing agencies, the cases of dowry deaths are on the increase. Besides a powerful and specific law against the dowry system, we need other meaningful and effective social measures. All our efforts should made to create an effective public opinion against dowry system. More and more people, organiztions, social, instituation, leaders, religious personalities and elders in the communities should be involved in the comaign against this evil. The campaign should also be launched in the villages and far flung areas of the country. The social and women's organizations should organize agitations against the parties demanding dowry. Social boycott and demonstrations against the offending parents and relatives of the boy can prove a powerful weapon in checking this evil. Moreover, the laws against dowry should be and must be foolproof so that the offenders may not get off scot-free.

"Let the punishment match the of fence." _ Cicero

To check this social malady, registration of marriages should be made compulsory, where both the parties are required to declare that they have neither taken nor given any dowry. Group and community marriages can also help in removing this cancer to a great extent. Such marriages ceremonies should be conducted in a great commmunity function in the presence of elders and some officials of the law-enforcing agencies. Reluctantly, there will be no room for the demand of dowry in such marriages.

"Love the quest; marriage, the conquest; divorce, the inquest." _ Helen Rowland

In this comaign, young women themselves should come forward and take lead. They should never feel weak, helpless and feeble. They will have to recognize their rights. They should use their strength and potential without fail. They should never let themselves be taken for granted. They should refuse to marry when dowry is demanded by the boy or his parents. They should revolt and expose such anti-social elements. They should learn to stand on their own feet and must try to improve their economic status in the Society. It is really heartening to know that there is a lot of awakening among the women folk of the country about this issue. They should fight against all sorts of discrimination and unjust male domination. The young boys should also e made aware of the evils of dowry. They should reject their parents plea of seeking dowry. What is really needed is tht this evil should be fought: both on the levels of law and society in order to do away with it for good.