According to the official data, roughly 20 dowry deaths were reported every day in India between 2017 and 2021. And this is for something that has not just been outlawed but has also been criminalised years ago. In spite of all the steps taken to protect women, several of them are killed because their families didn’t give dowry to their in-laws. Considering the rate of dowry deaths, it’s extremely essential for people to know what exactly is dowry. More so, because not many women know the difference between Stridhan and dowry. So, we spoke to Advocate Ridhi Thakkar from Mumbai who has fought over 2000 divorce cases in the 12 years that she has been practising law in the family court of Mumbai.
What Is Dowry?
Advocate Ridhi Thakkar said, “Whatever jewellery, cash, household items or appliances or belongings that are given by the girl’s parents to her during marriage as well as during the course of the marriage including subsistence of marriage is dowry. Any gifts in the form of gold, or appliances given to the daughter or her in-laws or even cash or bank transactions, it’s all called dowry.”
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What Is Stridhan?
The advocate explained, “Whatever is given to the girl, the bride, during the marriage and during the course of the marriage by her parents or by her in-laws is Stridhan.” FYI, Stridhan quite literally means a woman’s property.
So, What Is The Difference Between Dowry And Stridhan?
Adv Ridhi Thakkar explains, “Dowry is whatever is being gifted in terms of items to the boy and his family. This includes any jewellery, and money (even shagun ke paise) by the girl’s family is considered dowry. On the other hand, whatever is given to the girl by her parents, relatives or in-laws is Stridhan. So even if you give a woman jewellery worth crores, a man CANNOT demand it back because it is Stridhan. But if you give a man anything beyond an engagement ring, it is considered dowry.”
What About The Jewellery That A Woman Gets From The Relatives Of Her Husband?
Advocate Ridhi Thakkar shared that any gifts given to the bride in terms of cash or jewellery by her husband’s relatives are also Stridhan.
But What If The Girl’s Parents Say That The Gifts Gave Were For Their Daughter And Not For Her Husband Or In-Laws?
“It will still be considered dowry because the man is keeping these gifts and they’re for his house and it’s not for her self-acquired house. Of course, the man and his parents are enjoying the benefit of these gifts given by the girl’s parents. Moreover, these gifts come after you keep a condition before the wedding stating that ‘humare yahan toh ye dena padta hai, vo dena padta hai’. There are also cases where this gift exchange is discussed at the time of fixing the wedding and then there are those where a few days before the wedding the in-laws send a list of their demands to the girl’s family. In many cases, they actually sit down and discuss dowry like a deal. And it’s very real because there are cases where the boy’s family makes demands at the time of the wedding and threaten to cancel it if their demands are not fulfilled,” shared the Advocate.
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What If A Man Takes The Money A Woman Earns Or Acquires During The Course Of Her Marriage?
Advocate Ridhi Thakkar pointed out that anything that the woman earns or acquires during the course of her marriage is her property i.e., Stridhan. “If a man takes money from the wife or her earnings, he will have to pay it back. I’ve been getting cases recently wherein during the COVID-19 pandemic, women have been spending on household items and the man has been sitting at home and not earning. So, during the divorce, the women are rightfully asking for reimbursement and that is her right. And that comes in dowry as well because a man cannot spend his wife’s money. A man cannot use a single rupee that belongs to the wife or her parents.”
For the unversed, as per the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 giving or taking dowry is punishable by law. Under section 498a of the IPC, harassing a woman for dowry is also punishable by law.