National Child Development Council Demands Collective Action to End Dowry System
28/08/2025
Srinagar, August 28 (KIP)- The National Child Development Council (NCDC) held a top-level Core Committee meeting during the week, making a strong call for action to end India's time-honored and deadly dowry tradition. At the meeting, NCDC women's empowerment leaders, educators, and social activists came together to focus on recent dowry tragedies and stress the urgency for cultural as well as legal change.
Central to the debate was the sad history of Rithanya, a young woman from Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, who ended her life just 72 days after marriage, reportedly on account of constant demands for higher dowry and incessant harassment, sexual as well as emotional abuse from her spouse. Though her parents had given a big dowry at the time of marriage, the demands continued to mount, driving her to despair.
"She left a voice message for her parents prior to her death stating that she could no longer tolerate the physical and mental torture. Her agony is a reflection of thousands untold tales from India," one of the committee members stated during the session.
A number of members also raised concerns that parents of brides are complicit, willing to give dowry under social compulsion or to arrange so-called "prestigious" matches. The result, they cautioned, is a normalization of a exploitative custom.
"Even now, girls are being asked to 'adjust' instead of leaving abusive marriages. Parents are more scared of social stigma than the agony of their daughter," noted a speaker.
The National Child Development Council (NCDC) is a self-governing national organization based in New Delhi, India, that focuses on the education and welfare of women and children.