South Asia's Sad Secret: Indignity & Injustice by Dowry

ASIA — Gospel for Asia released a special report on “Seeking Justice & Defending Human Rights.” In addition to being available on the ministry’s website, the report was published in three parts on Patheos. The recurring theme of the report was abuse and indignity suffered by women and children, especially those in developing countries in Asia and the larger 10/40 Window.

Expanding on that report, we at Missions Box News feel the need to communicate the indignities and injustices women suffer as a result of child marriages. Our purpose is to motivate believers to pray with compassion for the young girls and women who are under the bondage of dowry.


It is important to understand that dowry was made illegal by the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 in India and “subsequently by Sections 304B and 498A[9] of the Indian Penal Code. Within the Indian context, dowry is a demand for property or valuable security having an inextricable nexus with the marriage.”

The most important thing about a law is its enforceability. The fact that the laws against the dowry system are not enforced allows crimes against women to continue, ranging from emotional abuse and injury to even death. Perhaps the most horrible of deaths involving forced marriages and dowries are “bride burnings.”

An MBA Rendezvous study says that “bride burning and dowry are [an] integral part…” of some Asian cultures.

Dowries establish a point of leverage by which the husband may continually harass the bride’s family for additional goods or money by threatening to do her harm. When the family fails to pony up, the husband may abuse or kill his defenseless wife. One of the more prevalent methods of dispatching one’s wife is by dousing her with kerosene and setting her on fire.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

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