A dowry is an ancient tradition in South Asia where the bride’s family give the groom’s family cash, livestock, or other valuables as a payment. Such practices were outlawed in 1961 but dowries still occur, leaving the brides open to domestic violence or even murder. Thousands of women are killed over dowry disputes every year.
Gunja Devi, a twenty-five year-old woman in the Darbhanga district in the state of Bihar, India was rescued from her husband’s family after they held her captive for three years because they deemed her dowry too small. She was unable to contact her family and three year-old daughter. As soon as she was released, she asked for her daughter. However, her daughter did not recognize Devi, causing her to weep. She states that her torture began for more dowry but then escalated by the hands of her in-laws when she gave birth to the daughter in the male-favoring culture.

Devi was kept in a bathroom with dirty clothes, overgrown nails, and unkempt hair. Devi’s in-laws also used emotional abuse, not allowing her to communicate with her parents or her child. She was also fed left over food on an irregular basis. Combined with being kept in darkness, she could barely open her eyes to the sunlight. In a mark of cultural disgrace, she never had  Sindoor, vermilion on her hair parting line, a sign of marriage in Hindu culture.

The concern was raised when Devi’s father complained that he was unable to see his daughter for the three years. The question raised after she was brought backed to her father was why did it take so long to cause alarm?

Unfortunately, not everyone has been able to be a survivor. Twenty-six year-old Sonali Borkar passed away September 10th after what her in-laws claimed to be a suicide. Her autopsy later showed that she had first been hit in the head with a hard object then later poisoned. She was only married to her husband, Amol Borkar for three months. Sonali paid what is considered a good dowry but Amol pressed for more. Sonali was an MA and a B.Ed, on track to get her PhD.

A formal complaint has been lodged against her in-laws, leading to the arrests of her husband, mother in-law, and father in-law but they were later freed on bail. They have not commented on the charges against them.