Preview

Dowry.Doc

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1304 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dowry.Doc
FATIMA JINNAH WOMEN UNIVERSITY

REMEDIAL ASSIGNMENT

“FEATURE WRITING”
(word count—1214)

TOPIC: DOWRY AND ITS REPERCUSSIONS

SUBMTTED TO: SIR RAMZAN AZHAR

SUBMITTED BY: MOMINA ABRAR

PROGRAM: BS-COMMUNICATION SCIENCES V

‘D for Dowry, D for Disgrace & D for Divorce’

My maid Parveen says, since day one, everybody she meets from her in-laws to her companions who live nearby; pray for her un-born baby to be a BOY!! Her mother-in-law claimed to distribute sweets in the entire neighbourhood if the baby was a BOY!!. When Parveen told me about these wired stories, I was really astonished. But what really annoyed me the most was HER OWN statement, “Baji, please pray that God blesses me with a SON!” I asked her for an explanation and she told me that a son would carry on the family name, become the bread-earner, and look after her when she grows old. “Girls are a burden. One has to pay for their upkeep, food, clothing and education and above all to her get married and contribute to another household. If one has a daughter, he/she would most likely have to pay a substantial dowry to get her married.”

So dowry is the main reason why people pray for a baby boy. I never would have realized this if I hadn’t spoken to Parveen. But actually no body can blame her for uttering such an absurd notion while living in 21st century where boys and girls are considered to be equal. The paradigm of marriage customs has shifted. The phenomenon of marriages decided at the time of birth are now almost unheard. Now young people put a lot of queries about “who, what, how and when” about their would be spouse and his/her family and also about

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Koerner tells us of a man whose name Nazir- Ali who states that “There's a fear that sex selection for social purposes will discriminate against women. There is also the fear that a child may be treated as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself, particularly if that child is seen as replacing a child who died in tragic circumstances. It's a heavy burden to bear if you're there as a replacement, not for your own sake. (Koerner 2012)”. Nature has a specific way of laying things out and fate or destiny will have its way one way or another.…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Naturally society prefers the male child, as he is the ‘superior’ child. Economics plays a large part here. The son is expected to earn and ‘pay back’ by looking after the parents in old age. Usually he does. And in many parts of India the male child grows up and commands a large dowry. This influences population growth rate trends in India by having a greater male to female ratio.…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One of the reasons why religion continues to be a critical factor today is due to its influence on status and social hierarchies. The status of women and attitudes towards the caste system in the traditional Hinduism and Sikhism involve some very important differences (Wadley, 1977). The role of women in marriage traditional Hindu beliefs is that of submissiveness and obedience. This traditional role of serving the husband and taking care of the children is emphasized in figures from Hindu mythology such as Sita who was the beautiful wife of Rama, the hero of Ramayana; and Savitri which symbolizes a faithful wife (Oxtoby, 2010). These mythology figures represented faithful beings and reflected Hindu women because they suffered and…

    • 1520 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Role of Women in Hinduism

    • 2173 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The purpose of the research paper is to examine the role of women in Hinduism and how it impact their lives .This paper will look at how narratives from sacred texts influences women’s role in society in the past and in the present. The role of women in Hinduism is often disputed, and positions range from equal status with men to restrictive. Hinduism is based on numerous texts, some of which date back to 2000 BCE or earlier. They are varied in authority, authenticity, content and theme, with the most authoritative being the Vedas. The position of women in Hinduism is widely dependent on the specific text and the context. Positive references are made to the ideal woman in texts such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, while some texts such as the Manu Smriti advocate a restriction of women's rights. In modern times, the Hindu wife has traditionally been regarded as someone who must at all costs remain chaste or pure. This is in contrast with the very different traditions that have prevailed at earlier times in Hindu kingdoms, which included highly respected professional courtesans such as Amrapali of Vesali, sacred Devadasis, mathematicians and female magicians the Basavis, the tantric kulikas. Mahabharata and Manu Smriti asserts that gods are delighted only when women are worshiped or honoured, otherwise all spiritual actions become futile, as evidenced by the narrative from the Mahabharata “Deities of prosperity are women. The persons that desire prosperity should honour them. By cherishing women, one cherishes the goddess of prosperity herself, and by afflicting her, one is said to afflict the goddess of prosperity” (Mahabharata,).…

    • 2173 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    People Paradox

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In a perfect world there would be a family that consists of at least two children, a boy and a girl, but in India that is not the case. Women are being forced to have boys by their families. If they are pregnant and if they are carrying a girl, many women is forced to have an abortion or even miscarry all because it is not a boy. In Asian culture, it is common for the families to have a boy because the boy is the caretaker of the family when he is older. He will take care of his family as for the girl she is to be married off to another family and is no longer the responsibility of her birth family. The women are even beaten if they are not producing male children. According to the film, in India, women average about five children in their lifetime and in order for the population to become stabilized the life of women has to improve. Meaning allowing…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The next factor to cause conflict in Marjane’s identity is the opposing views she faces during school. In the chapter “The Dowry”, Marjane has transferred to a new school after being expelled, but still faces issues at her new school. Her teachers states that since the Islamic Republic, there are no longer any political prisoners, but Marjane argues by stating that infact the amount has increased. Consequently, Marjane gets in trouble and when she comes home from school her parents both treat her differently. Her father was content that she defended her beliefs and even said, “she gets that from her uncle,”(145) and while her father doesn’t seem upset, her mother is upset and even rebuttals his comment by saying, “maybe you’d like her to end…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    While to many people raised in the west, this might sound odd. It is important to remember that in Indian society an arranged marriage is seen as an act of love. Since marriage is one of the most important decisions a person will ever make and because divorce is not accepted among most Indians, it is imperative that the marriage choice is carefully thought out and planned. How can a young person make such an important decision on his/her own? Instead, the family (usually the parents) look for certain traits in a marriage partner. Some desirable traits looked for in both male and female are: matching levels of education, matching cultures, close parental cities, matching religions, and matching vegetarians/non-vegetarians just to name a few.…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Today I'm going to Fort Myers, Myers for a breathtaking week that I'm over the moon excited about. I love going to Florida to see palm trees because they are different trees, only grow where it's warm, also carry coconuts, and are beautiful to look at. Going to the beach always excites me because the hot weather, the rippleless carmel sand, and seeing the magnificent ocean. Finding sea shells are one of the best ways to remember a sunny vacation and some shells are small, medium, large, and can be pretty heavy to hold. I for sure know I'll be coming back next year to a bright, magnificent, and humid…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through her study, Elizabeth Croll claims there are ‘missing girls’ in China and South Asia, because of the diminishing ratio of female to male infants in these countries. A common trend throughout these countries; which has contributed to the ‘missing girls’ in statistics, is the belief held that sons are preferred over daughters. This belief is encouraged by the cultures of these countries; boys were believed to be of more importance as they could keep the family name, preventing extinction of the family line whereas women, after marriage, adopt their husbands’ family name and become part of another family. Moreover, especially in the rural villages of China, boys can provide physical labour, and are likely to earn more money and be able to take better care of the parents when they are elderly. As governments in these nations have attempted to exercise more stringent population restrictions and family planning policies; there has been a rise in discrimination towards female infants, further emphasising the notion of new born girls being ‘unwanted’.…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In India, with a population of 1.2 billion, daughters are still seen as a burden on their families and finances. In traditional Indian families, the bride goes to live in the groom’s house and is expected to look after all the needs of her in-laws. So couples prefer having male children so they will bring home a wife to look after them in their old age.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    India from centuries has never welcomed the birth of daughter. Indian culture either treats woman as a goddess or an object, pretentiously as goddess but actually as an object. Daughters were never welcome as is evident from the blessings given by Rishis – “Ashta Putra Saubhagyavati Bhava” – “Be a Mother of 8 sons” – the blessing was never for 4 sons and 4 daughters.…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In certain countries such as china or India where they prefer boys over girls, there is a fear of unbalancing or devaluing of females which have occurred in these countries, the unbalanced of sex.The statistics and the amount of people who were surveyed show that more prefer a son of a daughter were it would cause a nurture disruption considering the amount who would rather have a son.Those people will be less nurturing towards a daughter and the wanting of a son and be able to get that will cause an imbalance men in society and a number of women.The decrease in females if this is available to anyone for nonmedical reasons it would devalue the worth of…

    • 2017 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Women in Ancient China

    • 2095 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Giving birth was a very important component in Ancient China, and most became a parent as early as a young teenager. Women were expected to have lots of children, especially to boys. They felt the pressure to have boys and believed themselves that boys were better than girls. “A girl gained more respect in her husband's family if she gave birth to a boy. The birth of a boy was always celebrated more than the birth of a girl" (Liu). A boy meant the continuation of a family, and a soon-to-be leader. A girl would not be able to continue a family legacy, as they are often married into another family to take care of their house. In severe cases, “if families were very poor, they would sell their daughters as servants to rich families” (Tsai) If a wife did not eventually give birth to a son, her husband often took other wives. This shows how much more respected and more important boys were to girls. It didn't matter whether the girl was smart or talented, because their only role that they could have was to cook, clean, and take care of the family. Although a woman could not choose whether they wanted a girl or boy, she would be disrespected if she gave birth to a girl.…

    • 2095 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dowry an Evil for Socitety

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages

    DOWRY or DAHEJ is payment or agreement to pay any property or valuable security or cash by the bride’s family to the bridegroom’s family along with the giving away of bride (called Kanyadan) .In our society it is generally given by the girl’s family to the boy’s family but in hilly areas it is opposite.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Save Girl

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In ancient India the birth of a girl child was hailed as auspicious. An old Indian proverb lies down that a home without a daughter is like a body without soul. The coming of a daughter in the house was compared with the advent of Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth and Saraswati, the Goddess of fine arts. The usual blessing of a father at the time of his daughter’s marriage was: “May you excel in learning and public speaking”. No ceremony was considered complete without presence of women. The belief was that “No hone is complete without a woman.”…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics