Anti-dowry campaign by Bihar's Women Development Corporation

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 12 January 2022

To convince people to print anti-dowry declarations on wedding cards Bihar’s Women Development Corporation (WDC) is preparing to increase awareness against dowry. For the pledge against dowry it is also considering involving NGOs.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2020, Bihar was second in the country in terms of dowry related deaths with 1,046 cases.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is getting declarations against dowry printed on the wedding cards and has appealed for the pledge against accepting it. A human chain was formed against the practise and in January 2017, he launched an anti-dowry campaign.

“For anti-dowry declarations, there is a need to make people aware. The WDC is preparing to launch an aggressive awareness drive (for it),” said Ajay Srivastava, project coordinator, WDC.

Meena Tiwari, the National general secretary of the All-India Progressive Women’s Association said, “Every woman appreciated his (Kumar)’s appeal to the people to make an anti-dowry declaration on wedding cards. But the problem is how to get this executed.”

Jaimangal Dev, a psychology teacher at Patliputra University, said everybody knows that dowry is illegal. “Even then this evil practice continues. The only way to stop it is to bring attitudinal changes in people.”