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CHENNAI, INDIA, June 8, 2003: Two young women on the eve of their wedding have given momentum to the anti-dowry movement in India by calling off the occasion when potential future husbands and their families got greedy and demanded more gifts from the brides’ families. Vidya in Chennai and Nisha Sharma in Delhi received action from the police in pressing charges against the grooms and their families, and they received media attention. Vasuki, representative of the All-India Democratic Women’s association says, “The attention that these two women has attracted has helped in sending the message across to grooms and their families that the consequences of demanding dowry are sure to be severe.” A senior police official says, “More women will be now take courage to come to a police station.” Up to April 30, 2002, a total of 2,005 cases (rape, attempted rape, molestation, kidnapping, abduction, eve-teasing, dowry death and cruelty by husband) were reported. Of these, the number of reported dowry deaths was 89 and the number of harassment incidents by the husband and his family was 322 cases. However, since the anti-dowry law has been taken more seriously in Tamil Nadu, the number of reported cases rose to 1,200 for the remainder of 2002. Police have also indicated that they are making efforts, “to increase the number of women in the force, inaugurate more women’s’ courts, establish more women’s’ police stations and conduct gender sensitization programs for personnel.”

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