The Dowry System in Northern India: Women's Attitudes and Social Change

Headnote

In spite of modernization and women s increasing role in the market economy, the practice of the dowry in India is becoming more widespread, and the value of dowries is increasing. There are many well-documented adverse consequences of the dowry system, particularly for women. This is a study of attitudes toward the dowry system among married women in the northern province of Bihar (N = 4,603), in which the dowry has strong roots in tradition. Hypotheses regarding antecedents involving attachment to tradition, exposure to modernizing influences, and self-interest were developed. Each set of factors has some effects, and nearly two thirds of the women in the survey disapprove of the dowry. The practice may be quite resistant to change, however, because its social and economic consequences carry tangible benefits in an increasingly materialistic culture.

Key Words: dowry, India, marriage, modernization, women.

The dowry system-payments from the bride's family to the groom or groom's family at the time of marriage-has a long history in India and other Asian societies (Lee, 1982). The modern Indian dowry system has its roots in the traditional upper-caste practices of kanyadhan (literal meaning: gift of the virgin bride), varadakshina (voluntary gifts given by the bride's father to the groom), and stridhan (voluntary gifts given by relatives and friends to the bride; Diwan, 1987; Van der Veen, 1972). Traditionally, although these gifts could be significant, they were often small tokens of good wishes. More recently, however, the dowry has come to involve a substantial transfer of wealth from the bride's family to the groom's, and has become a major factor in marriage negotiations (Nadagouda, Krishnaswamy, & Aruna, 1992; Paul, 1985; TeJa, 1991).

This is a study of married women's attitudes toward the dowry system in the northern Indian state of Binar. Evidence is mounting that the dowry has some extremely serious adverse consequences for women. At the same time, however, women benefit from dowries in several ways, and these benefits may be increasingly important in a culture that is becoming more materialistic and consumer-oriented. Understanding the antecedents of women's attitudes may help in assessing the potential for processes of social change to eventuate in either the strengthening or the weakening of the dowry system.

Historically, the dowry may have served as...