Despite ‘Pro-Women’ Laws, Dowry Still Kills Indian Women: 4,383 Cases In 2024, Says NCW

The toxic reality of dowry violence continues to harm India, as incidents of harassment, suicides, and killings of new brides crop up nearly every month recently. All these years after legal changes and campaigns, dowry exists in both rural and urban India. Women are caught in abusive marital arrangements, subjected to day and night torture, monetary exactions, and, in most cases, brutal murder.

The case recently returned to the national limelight when the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kiran Kumar, who was convicted in the high-profile case of dowry death of 24-year-old Vismaya V Nair from Kerala. The court suspended his sentence temporarily while his appeal is still pending before the Kerala High Court. This move angered people, particularly because, at the same time, a dowry death was reported again in Tamil Nadu.

Dowry Harassment deaths shook Tamil Nadu

In June, 27-year-old Ridhanya was discovered dead within her car on a highway in Tiruppur, three months following her wedding. She had sent audio messages to her father before poisoning herself, claiming that she could no longer “endure the torture.” Her in-laws and family had already provided 100 sovereigns of gold, a ₹70 lakh luxury vehicle, and a wedding that cost more than ₹2.5 crore. It was not sufficient for her in-laws.

After some days, Lokeshwari, 22, from Ponneri, took her own life after her husband asked for more gold and household items. Her death came on the heels of the second dowry-related death in Tamil Nadu in a week, that showed the ever-present cruelty that underlies dowry demands.

ALSO READ: Back-To-Back Dowry Suicides In Tamil Nadu: Chennai Bride Dies 3 Days After Marriage

Dowry Harassment Across India

The dowry threat or extortion is not limited to India. In a shocking case in Sharjah, UAE, Kerala’s Kollam native Athulya Sekhar, 29, was found dead in her flat. Her mother accused her husband, Satheesh, of beating her choking, punching her abdomen, and smashing a plate on her head, leading to her death.

State-wise, the trend continues to be frighteningly one and the same: early marriages, incessant demands for gold, money, or assets, followed by physical and emotional assault. In Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, a woman was killed after a hot iron was applied to her body, her family complaining of frequent battering on dowry lines. Another woman was set on fire in Pilibhit for not being able to fulfill her in-laws’ dowry demands. Similar case reported In Chandigarh when a young bride took her own life for being constantly harassed.

Shocking Dowry Death Statistics

The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 makes it a criminal offense to give or receive dowry, but the law still lacks stringent enforcement. A total of 6,450 dowry deaths were reported across India, based on the NCRB statistics for the year 2022. Uttar Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh,  Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Haryana accounted for 80% of these cases combined.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) had received 4,383 complaints of dowry harassment in 2024 itself, accounting for 17% of total complaints, and 292 cases of dowry deaths. More than 60% of dowry killings happened in West Bengal, Odisha, and Bihar. Of Indian cities, Delhi alone had 30% of all cases of dowry deaths followed by Kanpur, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Patna.

Dowry has become a systematic means of extortion and violence. Even though it is forbidden, it is still thriving in both northern and southern parts of India , transcending caste and class divisions.

The recent deaths, from Vismaya’s death in Kerala to Ridhanya and Lokeshwari in Tamil Nadu, prompting an urgent query: Is dowry harassment turning into a nightmare for Indian women?

ALSO READ: Kerala Woman Athulya Sekhar Dies in UAE: Family Accuses Husband of Dowry Harassment & Murder