Women's rights activists in India report that every hour in their country, one woman dies due to dowry-related crimes, FOX News reports.
Last year alone, 8,233 women were killed across the country due to disputes over dowry payments given by the bride's family to the groom at the time of the wedding, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
"Marriages have become commercialized. It's like a business proposition where the groom and his family make exorbitant demands. And the wealthier the family, the more outrageous the demands," Ranjana Kumari, a women's rights activist, told the Associated Press.
Kumari blames the high death rates on an exceedingly "growing culture of greed" in the wake of India's economic boom. While Indian law prohibits the giving or receiving of a bridal dowry, the centuries-old social custom persists across the nation.
As per custom, a payment in cash or gifts of some kind including jewelry, furniture and home appliances, are given to the bridegroom's family along with the bride, the original purpose meant to help the newlywed set up her new home with her husband. In 1961, the practice was made illegal by the Dowry Prohibition Act, and later also made illegal under Indian Penal Code.
While the custom was not part of Indian marriage until European colonization, the widespread practice has left devastating effects on the country, as bride burning (dousing a woman in gasoline before setting her on fire), induced suicides, and torture are all sadly too-common punishments met upon the bride if the groom or his family feels the dowry are inadequate.
Demands for dowry payments can continue for years after the wedding takes place, further fueling the problem. Loopholes in dowry prevention laws, low conviction rates and prosecution delays all factor into why the crime rate is steadily on the rise, say police and women's rights activists.
Statistics published by the National Crime Records Bureau last week confirm that last year, the conviction rate was at a low 32 percent.
Dowry practices, according to Suman Nalwa, a senior New Delhi police officer who deals with crimes against women, cross all class barriers. "Even highly educated people don't say no to dowry," she told the Associated Press.
