- Published: September 10, 2022
- Updated: September 10, 2022
- University / College: Birkbeck, University of London
- Language: English
- Downloads: 4
This video clip talks strictly about how the dowry has become one of the most committed crimes in India, but with yet no punishment. Dowry in India is very common and typically a transfer of wealth from the brides family to the husband. Dowry goes in favor of the husband leaving the wife with nothing sometimes it leads her to her death. In the video it proclaims that a woman is killed every one hour and forty minutes by her in-laws or her husband. India seems to make changes with the time that not even the culture or institutions around can keep up with its changes.
In India “ ease teasing” means sexual harassment. The film argues that the harassments in India are very high and that it decoys the amount of women officers to catch those offenders. The film reveals several cases in which fall into dowry, however with different circumstances in each one. In the video it exploits how these young women are set by arraigned marriages and within these cases we can acknowledge that women suffer and fear for their lives. It does not matter the age nor class level of the woman lifestyle or of her family, all types cling to arraigned marriages.
A woman interviewed claims that love has no part of the equation when you place a man and woman together. She proclaims that it is more like a business affair in which two families unite to gather the couple. Is this a violation of our rights here in America? Yes, of course it is. For here we freely choose who to marry and if one of the two parties chooses to have a prenuptial agreement signed. It is astonishing to know that the bride’s price is to transfer the family’s wealth over to the husband. It seems like once she marries it’s as if she mainly hands down to the groom personal finances and properties.
Analysis of Dowry Deaths in India This analysis of the video clip titled Dowry Deaths is written from a conflict perspective. The main reason for this option is because the video depicts a social norm or tradition that is facing the force of modernism, globalization and inevitable change. Furthermore, the main role of conflict theorists is to challenge the status quo, encourage social change (even when this means social revolution), and sometime to show that the rich and powerful people force social order on the poor and the weak.
First of all, the video begins by showing young school girls who are playfully walking from school with smiles on their faces. This approach may be may be regarded by the critics of the conflict perspective as an appeal to ethos that is meant to put the viewer in a certain mental and emotional state even before discovering the issue at hand. This will be regarded as a capitalistic design to control the masses instead of preserving social order.
The statement, “ The most heinous and most brutal form of crime, where women have been burnt, tortured for the want of consumer goods,” reveals a form of false premise being used to justify the need for social change regarding the practice of dowry seeking. The statement fails to address the deeper cultural cause and only focuses on the superficial manifestation of “ greed”. However, the statement, “ Dowry deaths are only mere symptoms of a far deeper social malaise,” is an accurate description of the issue at hand.
However, it is also indicative that dowry deaths are regarded as a social problem or anomaly that should be rectified. The other striking statement that clearly presents a social conflict resulting from the practice of dowry seeking and dowry deaths is the one claiming that, “ The cherished institutions and cultures of traditional India cannot keep up with the fast pace in which India is changing. ” There is also a form of conflict or social contradiction in the way the two police women treat the sexual harasser.
The two women police actually physically assault the sexual man. This is in contradiction to what is expected of police, let alone women. It displays a counter-cultural expression that is meant to show female dominance. It seems to go against the campaign against physical assault of women for dowry. It is not indicative of a campaign for equality, but one of male suppression. From the video, something else that appears strangely evident is that divorce is not an option.
The only way to get married again and earn another owry is through the death of the wife. So, husbands intend to kill the woman. Another interesting aspect is that the woman being interviewed suggests a direct relationship between rising consumerism in India and the Dowry Deaths. Is this true? Avarice (or consumerism) is said to have run amok only among the poor and the middle class. This is indicative of a form of social class stratification and interrelationship with the Dowry Deaths. Another peculiar thing is that it is not just the wife, but also the daughters that are being beaten (but not the sons).
This shows that discrimination is against women and not necessarily out of avarice. Finally, the establishment of a special women police force to tackle the problem indicates that it is much more of a cultural and gender-based issue, rather than just an avarice or consumerism issue. It is a cultural and not an ethical matter. All in all, there seems to be a great deal of conflict between the traditional (arranged) marriage system and the more modern, globally influenced Indian society.