History of Dowry in Sociological Prospectus - Research Paper Example

No: History of dowry in Sociological Prospectus Introduction Marriage is one of the religious obligations and an inseparable relation between two persons, infect two families, but the more burden is on a woman to keep this relation especially in a male dominant society. In formal point of review, marriage becomes strengthen but in some cases, it becomes weak. Dowry is a kind of compensation, which is given by the parents of bride to the groom or his parents. It may be cash amount, some furniture, vehicle or other kind of house used products. It has become a common exercise in the modern age too even after so many organizations and NGOs working to protect the women rights and to fight against the Dowry System. The society and human behavior decide the customs in the life course. Sociology deeply studies all the aspects of human’s behavior, irrespective of the fact that whether it is wrong or right and when two persons or families communicate with each others, they come under the social institutions and marriage is a fundamental part of this. In addition, after the marriage, two persons become a family, which is a multi functional institution in all the societies (Birodkar 1994). In each of the society, there are different customs and doings in the functions of wedding done by the families of bride and groom, but one thing, which is common in most of the weddings, is the trend of Dowry. Dowry is a dreadful and unethical practice.  It is not a practice for which there is religious sanction, but it continues to be practiced in many countries of the world today. The practice of taking dowry is more common in the South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, etc. demand of dowry from the family of groom, is simply a burden on the parents of bride (Kishwar 2005). If we say this is common among the illiterate or uneducated people, we will be wrong because even the educated people own this system with pride. The people have made this system a symbol of their status to show others. A number of marriage-negotiations break down if there is no consensus between the bride's and groom’s families. Dowry deaths of a newly married bride are still regularly in the news. Many studies use to tell us that the dowry system is much more in practice in the rural areas as compare to the urban areas of any country. This practice has been in use from many years as the history of human is. This system has also been encouraged by the society around us and it can be seen in the Sociological prospective (Shenk 2005). Why groom’s parents’ demand dowry? A concept is that the parents of groom spent a lot of their money in bringing up their son and according to the parents of groom, they demand that amount from the parents of bride which they have spent in upbringing their son and educating him (Afzal 2). “Another finding is that the dowry paid has a negative intercept, when no wet land owned by husband as well as no secondary education husband father is completed” (Afzal 8). Sociological Aspects of Dowry For the sociological understanding of the dowry system and the right of women, the social institutions should be kept in mind. These social institutions include; class, caste, family and kinship of both of the families. Each society plays a vital and essential role in making a custom in their area and thus the dowry system has also been highly influenced by the society. The different phrases of history have made different changes in the status of a woman’s life and dowry system. In this Socio Historical Perspective, the history has changed three faces as; Ancient age Medieval age And the Modern age. All these times have changed the system of a society and each passing period gave an authentic lesson. All the sociological aspects give us different context under the history of human, the one of those perspectives introduce historical periods as a temporal sequence of contextual regimes that regulate life courses. The other one perspective deeply looks at the cross-national differences in the culture and patterns of life courses and above all its hub is the institutions as the mechanisms by which lives are channeled in specific ways. Sociologist always tried to find more easy ways in the term of life courses of human just to give an acceptable sequence to the lives of people. The life style and its trends have been kept on changing from time to time with the change of human history. Sociology kept on emerging each individual’s life by giving it space in a group of people as in the form of Family. Families got a major space in social positions and roles, that is, in regard to their membership in institutional orders. However, some greedy and pathetic activities have spoiled the charm of a family and dowry is one of the big problems of the time (Afzal 2-4). Sociological Facts and findings behind the dowry system Cultural script Dowry has become a part of the culture of a society and people feel pride in fulfilling their cultural customs and find it as a duty on them. This is one of the major aspects of life as culture really does change the customs of a society and it is their internal temporal ordering, that they think that if they (groom’s family) will get paid more, the marriage life of their son will be more pleasing and luxuries (Shenk 2005). On the other hand, the parents of bride think that if they will fail to give a reasonable amount to the groom’s family, they will not be able to keep their head up among their relatives and their daughter will suffer more if they will pay less. Sociologists tend to be split on this issue. Some would emphasize cultural scripts, some would stress social norms, and others would bet on rational choice (Shenk 2005). An element of unemployment In the history, there were fewer opportunities for jobs and employment and a big ratio of people were unemployment may be because of lack of education and degree, but this become a cause of strengthen the dowry system (Birodkar 1994). Likewise, the employment is the one of the more power full element of a family and it is an outcome of a multitude of individual employment trajectories. The employed person will be less in the need of dowry or that amount given as dowry to the groom and his family. If a person is having good financial background and already experiencing the ultimate wealth and class, he will be less in the favor of putting burden on the parents of bride. Nevertheless, if unemployment is frequent, that human will be more in the need of money and he will be demanding a big amount as dowry from bride and her parents (Srinivas 59). Influence of relatives Showing off is a common practice in almost all the societies and families and they really want to show their class and this practice, ultimately lead the custom of dowry. Relative affluence allowed children to receive more education and training than the parental generation, and parents could afford to support their children in buying their own homes. As a consequence, inequalities between families are high, and for individuals they tend to be cumulative across the life course (Srinivas 63). Financial burden A marriage means an additional member in one’s family who has to be supported and hence it put a burden on the groom's family, as they need to give all the accessories of life to the bride. Nevertheless, if they are not that strong with their financial status, they did not go out to earn and contribute to the family income (Sheel 107). Thus, a dowry was collected to provide the additional burden resulting from a bride's entry into the groom's family. Conflict perspective on dowry The economists have defined some conflict theory to show the behavior and trends of families and their members which they use to compete and corporate. And the dowry system also lies under this prospective as the man is treated as the superior specie in the many areas of world and females got fewer rights than their men. These male dominant societies think that men are the head of the family and the females are only helper who is also unpaid laborers. Family of groom want to get paid for their son from the family of bride and this conflict has been a major reason for the establishment and fame of dowry system (Srinivas 78). Functionalist perspective on dowry Many economists who address the topic of dowry have also taken a functional Approach. For this prospectus, each of the family plays many different roles. The most of the economists and people who are not in the favor of dowry called it as a “social evil” (Shenk 2005). Structural-functionalist anthropology, economics, and human behavioral ecology, which characterizes dowry as purposeful, strategic, and often in the best interests of? The parents paying the dowry and the daughter for whom it is given. Such functional models share a focus on dowry as a form of investment, inheritance, or bargaining power directed at maintaining or improving the quality of a married daughter’s husband or children, her quality of life, or the long-term interests of her family. This literature accepts evidence for dowry as Functional while debating its mechanisms and details, and often ignores the political implications of dowry (Shenk 2005). Social change can stop dowry culture: some suggestions The only thing, which can stop the dowry system in the entire world, is the social change. The phenomenon of social change is as old as civilization itself. No society is completely static and away from the change. Functions of Religion The major function of religion is to orient man in his concept of supernaturalism. The people belong to any religion should know the Do’s and Dont’s of their religion. The dowry is prohibited in almost all the religions including Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. Therefore, people should not show interest in receiving and giving dowry. Works Cited Afzal, S. To Estimate An Equation Explaining The Determinants Of Dowry. July 2009. 13 May 2012. < http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/16046/1/Dowry_report_by_sarwatfor_repec.pdf> Birodkar, S. Hindu Social Customs: Dowry, Sati and Child Marriage, 1994. 14 May 2012. Kishwar, M. “Beginning with our own lives: A call for dowry boycott”. In S. Basu (Ed.), “Dowry and inheritance”. (pp. 265–267). New Delhi: Women Unlimited, 2005. Sheel, R. “The political economy of dowry: Institutionalization and expansion in North India”. New Delhi: Manohar, 1999. Shenk, M. K. “How much gold will you put on your daughter? A behavioral ecology perspective on dowry marriage”. University of Washington Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. (CSDE) working paper series, 2005. 12 May 2012. Srinivas, M. N. “Some reflections on dowry”. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1984. Read More