Victimization of Women: A Theoretical Perspective on Dowry Deaths in India
| Author | Mangai Natarajan |
| DOI | 10.1177/026975809500300403 |
| Published date | 01 January 1995 |
| Date | 01 January 1995 |
International
Review
ofVictimology,
1995,
Vol.
3,
pp.
297-308
0269-7580/95
$10
©
1995
A B
Academic
Publishers-Printed
in
Great
Britain
VICTIMIZATION
OF
WOMEN:
A
THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVE
ON
DOWRY
DEATHS
IN
INDIA
MAN
GAl
NATARAJAN
John
Jay
College
of
Criminal
Justice,
City
University
of
New
York,
New
York
City,
USA
ABSTRACT
Deaths
of
young
brides
through
suicide
or
homicide
following
disputes
over
the
dowry
(gifts
given
by
the
bride's
family
to
that
of
the
groom
during
and
after
the
marriage)
are
increasingly
a
feature
of
Indian
society.
Explanations of
this
social
problem
have
been
too
heavily
concentrated
on
the
socio-cultural
and
psychological
factors
implicated
and
need
to
be
supplemented
by
victimological
and
criminological
concepts,
drawn
especially
from
routine
activity
and
rational
choice
perspec-
tives.
A
model
incorporating
these
concepts
within
a traditional socio-cultural
and
psychological
framework
is
presented.
This
more
complete
model
of
the
phenomenon
needs
to
be
empirically
verified,
but
in
time
may
assist
in
developing
a
wider
range
of preventive strategies.
INTRODUCTION
Marriages in India are usually arranged by parents; the wife becomes a member
of
the husband's family, and in most cases moves in with them. Since most
of
the
marriages are arranged with the assistance
of
third parties, the families generally
do not know each other well. Nevertheless the newly wedded bride is expected
to switch her principal loyalty overnight to her husband's family. The husband's
family may make little accommodation to the bride, but expect her to adjust to
them. Since they are now supporting her, the husband's family believes that she
must be considerate to their wishes.
If
they believe she is not, they may feel
justified in treating her harshly, even violently.
In the early stages
of
a marriage, a new bride who is being mistreated by her
husband's family may not seek help from her own parents because they will
already have counselled her that a period
of
adjustment to her new situation may
be needed.
If
she does complain, unless the abuse is repeated
or
extreme, most
parents would probably be reluctant to intercede on her behalf with the in-laws
or
husband. This reflects the Hindu norm that once a girl is married, her parents
have only limited rights to a say in her new family's personal affairs. They might
also hope that some mutual adjustment might occur between the bride and her
new family so that there would be a reduction in harassment and ill-treatment.
If
the girl returns to her parents' house because
of
quarrels with her husband, this
brings shame on her parents' family and prevents the marriage
of
any
of
her
sisters. Moreover, she cannot take part in any religious ceremonies without her
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeUnlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations
Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial
Transform your legal research with vLex
-
Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform
-
Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues
-
Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options
-
Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions
-
Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms
-
Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations