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NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 20, 2002: The results of a survey on the prevalence of the dowry system, conducted by the All-India Democratic Women’s Association, was presented on September 1 and 2 at a two-day national workshop. Previously the dowry system was only thought to be a problem in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, but the survey found it to be practiced in all states and among those with higher literary and prosperity levels. “The worst fears were confirmed in the responses to the 9,000 questionnaires — that almost all crimes against women, including female foeticide and infanticide were linked to the practice of dowry. The sample population comprised upper, middle and lower castes, but mainly middle and lower-middle class families with monthly incomes of up to US$103.” Karminder, an AIDWA activist from Haryana says, “Be it any income group or caste, every section is obliged to spend at least $2,075 on their daughter’s wedding.” Resolutions passed by the AIDWA workshop included calling upon all citizens to act for the abolition of dowry, launching a national campaign to abolish both the caste system and dowry, appealing to religious leaders of the Hindu community to denounce publicly the “son preference,” and encouraging own-choice and nondowry marriages. Legislation prohibiting dowry was first passed in 1961 and amended in the early 1980’s to include a fine and imprisonment for offenders. In 1986, the Act empowered states to appoint Dowry Prohibition Officers. However, the social mindset is such that the law has little effect and the reality for unmarried Indian women does not appear to have changed.

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