Scourge of patriarchy

Offenders of dowry-related crimes continue to get away as most such incidents go unreported.

Police on December 15 arrested a doctor from Mahottari district on charge of domestic violence and dowry demand. Two days earlier, a woman in Nepalgunj was found dead at her husband’s house in an alleged case of dowry-related violence. These couple of cases illustrate the prevalence of violence in Nepal today as dowry continues to be an instrument through which a man’s family oppresses women. The dowry problem transcends class, caste and region, although a significant number of cases are reported from the Madhesh. As the Post reported on Thursday, several women have been killed in Madhesh, even after years of marriage, for failing to provide dowry to their husbands.