Dowry Giving Growing in Kerala

Source : The Times of India [ 28 Jan, 2007 1043hrs IST IANS ]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The institution of dowry has grown in Kerala over the years, largely due to the pressure on parents to get their daughters married, a researcher has said.

Praveena Kodoth, a faculty member at the Centre for Development Studies here, says in a study that "marriage is seen as something that gives women a meaningful life in much the same way as employment makes a man's life meaningful".

"Because of this parents are under pressure to get their daughters married and this gave rise to dowry," she says in her study that was conducted in two phases in 2001 and 2005 in a village in northern Kerala.

Data was collected from commercial marriage agencies, the marriage bureaus and marriage brokers of nearby towns.

"The state and society by promoting one particular form of marriage, or stable monogamy, has given incentive for engaging in dowry. This has generated negative perceptions about single women and divorced, separated or widowed women," said Kodoth.

Dowry has become an important basis of match making in Kerala, which is also known for its matrilineal traditions.

Till the early mid-20th century, formalisation of marriage among the matrilineal castes was far from elaborate and involved few, if any, exchanges of gifts or unilateral transfer of goods or cash.

In the region under study, people associated dowry foremost with the Muslims, who had a significant presence in the village, and with settler Christians, and the Ezhava and Nair community.

"Muslims admit that dowry is a drain on the resources of the poor. Settler Christians, Ezhavas and Nairs acknowledge that they transfer property to their daughters at the time of marriage but represent it as her 'share' of family property. During conversations, however, there is frequent slippage between dowry and 'share' in property," says the study.

The size of the dowry revolves around the economic and social condition of the family and largely on what was given by the next-door neighbour. Gold is an important element in the dowry.

"I was told repeatedly that parents will do all they can for a daughter at the time of her marriage. Even among the labour class, 10 to 15 sovereigns of gold (1 sovereign = around 8 grams) was the norm. It touched up to 75 sovereigns of gold among the Thiya community, while Nair families with roots in the landed elite have given around 50 sovereigns," says the study.

The educational standard of the bride is also considered and an educated bride preferred as the prospective bridegroom sees education as bolstering the woman's ability to rear children and teach them at home.

Among the poorer families, the preferred jobs that prospective brides should have include as nurses, technical assistants in hospitals, paramedical establishments, and as office assistants.

As an example, she mentions that a construction labourer whose 20-year-old daughter worked as an X-ray technician in a private establishment was listed in the frequent inquiry list by prospective bridegrooms.

For men, however, the emphasis is mainly on their ability to economically provide for a family. Their employment status is crucial.

Though men employed in the public sector continue to be sought after, those working as drivers or technicians in the Middle East with at best higher secondary qualifications are married to women with graduate and postgraduate degrees.

Kodoth says that even though dowry was banned in the country in 1961, it has only grown since.

"The rules were framed by Kerala against dowry in 1982, but unless it addresses importance to marriage of women, the issue of dowry cannot be effectively addressed," said Kodoth.