Village Takes Stern Action Against Dowry

Siddhartnagar, UP: A few days before the world got into celebrating Women’s Day, Piraila, a hamlet of 120 Muslims and 80 Hindu families in Siddhartnagar, one of UP’s most backward districts, did something which promises to change the status of women for generations. Seeing dowry as the biggest social evil, residents pledged to shun dowry in all possible ways. Initiated by a registered village samiti called Anjuman Raza-e-Mustafa, the locals have decided to boycott the family which gives or takes dowry in any way. They have also decided to end all extravagance in the name of weddings. According to the national crime records bureau, six women die because of dowry every day in Uttar Pradesh. In 2014, 2469 dowry deaths were reported in the state, while 8,455 such deaths came to light in India. Senior member, Haji Azeez Mohammad said that families start feeling the burden of arranging for their daughter’s wedding from the time she is born. “The pressure makes people give low preference to their education which changes her world forever,” he said adding, “though Islam shuns dowry, many Muslims have acquired the evil tradition from society.”