Woman strips to underwear to protest dowry

snigdhasen — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:43:43 -0500

Commenting on one of my posts on arranged marriages , Mata H , BlogHer's contributing editor on religion and spirituality, had asked me about the menace and prevalence of the dowry system in India.

If you had any doubts about the havoc it can wreak, here's an example:

A 22-year-old woman, walked down the streets of Rajkot, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, in her underwear , protesting against her estranged husband and in-laws who, she alleges, have been consistently harassing her for dowry and for not bearing a son .

A news report says the woman, Pooja Chauhan, took to the streets only after the police had failed to respond to her complaints against her husband and in-laws.

Needless to say, she attracted more than a good deal of attention. Her husband and in-laws were arrested (and released on bail).

Indian women have publicly protested against dowry, some of them becoming national heroes for doing so. But Pooja Chauhan may be the only one who has paraded semi-nude to make herself heard. Whatever the merits or demerits of her case, I cannot begin to imagine what kind of mental or physical agony could drive a woman to this in a largely conservative, male-dominated society. (Take a look at the people around her in this image , and you'll know what I'm getting at.)

But Chauhan's problems may have just begun. She moved out of her husband's home five months ago with her two-year-old daughter following prolonged harassment. Now, she has been asked to vacate her rented house and urged to return to her parents' home.

Her in-laws allege that she is mentally ill. The cop seems to be stating the same here , although I am at a loss figuring out who or what institute helped establish that she is indeed mentally unstable. The police decided not to file a case against Chauhan for indecent exposure, saying “she's a victim of her circumstances”. (The Times of India had quoted a cop saying the police may file a case of indecency against her, but not before examining her mental condition.)

I am waiting for updates about this case. But this one story points to so many battles that Indian women need to fight over the next several years: dowry, the law against the practice(which many complain is unfairly biased against men and is being abused

) and how it's being implemented, criminal bias against girl children, how we deal with mental illnesses, social stigmas and many more.

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Woman strips to underwear to protest dowry