KEBIJAKAN PEMERINTAH INDIA DALAM MENGATASI MASALAH‘DOWRY DEATHS’

Abstract

This study explains about the policy of the Indian government in addressing the problem of ‘dowry deaths’ in India. Dowry deaths itself is a term for a murder or violence against wives in which performed by the husband or the husband's family because of the inability of the wife to meet the demand of paying the dowry. The impact of the tradition of giving dowry is not only the death of the wives, but also the impact on the discrimination over the women and selective abortion of female fetuses. The number of victims of dowry death reached more than 8000 deaths per year. The phenomenon of dowry deaths required the Indian government to intervene to resolve the issue. Indian government have managed to make some policies, it covers the application of the rules of prohibiting dowry in the marriage that began with the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, that punish the offender of dowry death with the threat of no less than seven years in prison; and also, some policies to provide financial incentives to daughter, to prohibit the sex-selective abortion to female fetuses. In addition, the Indian central government's policy is also supported by the initiative of the state government to initiate several related policies such as banning ultrasound technology, forbidding abortion, as well as providing incentives to girls, and various other policies. Although the government has been implementing various policies, but the weakness of law enforcement caused by the strong patriarchal culture in society is one reason why these policies are less effective in preventing loss of life because of 'dowry deaths'.