Deccan Chronicle
NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 1, 2004: At a workshop organized by the National Commission for Women, former Union minister Ram Jethmalani referred to a section of the Dowry Prohibition Act which does not consider dowry as a criminal offence, as long as it is not under any compulsion or threat. “On one hand, the number of innocent women being harassed or burnt for dowry is increasing, on the other we have laws which do not include dowry as a criminal offence, as long as it is not under any compulsion or threat,” Jethmalani said. According to Jethmalani, dowry can be rightly termed as an “extortion” if the girl is forced to fulfill the demands of her in-laws. “Our society does not consider dowry as a social evil till the girl is blackmailed and harassed by the groom’s side,” he said. Jethmalani said educating minds is a more preferable option than bringing in laws to control the spread of the deadly menace of dowry. “It is through education that social activism and good behavior could be generated in an individual,” he said.