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P. 34
I am an MBA from one of the top-notch institutes of this country and have been a topper throughout my
life. I work in a senior position and earn more than Rs 1.2 lakhs a month. Three years ago, I married my
boyfriend (who is equally qualified, not more). Little did I know that this wedding will be the biggest
nightmare of my life. The guy’s parents showed some signs of trying to suppress my family right since
the beginning but I was foolish to overlook them.
During the three-day wedding programme, there were endless hurtful comments made by them about
how my parents are not giving them enough. They said, “Kya aap ko pata hai ek MBA ladke ki kya value
hai? Aap ko toh sawa rupaiye ki shaadi kar deni chahiye thi. Hum ne toh apni beti ko gaadi di thi.” We
had to hear this even though my father agreed to all that they asked for and spent Rs 25 lakhs on my
wedding.
My parents cried because of this and that was the worst day of my life. I could not live with myself seeing
my parents being humiliated. There is not a single day in my life when I do not feel the angst because of
this incident.
-Nilakshi
--
We are a family of five living in a village in Andhra Pradesh. I am working as a software engineer in
Hyderabad. My younger sister finished her MBA and got married in 2009. At the time of her
engagement, the groom’s side asked us for a dowry of Rs five lakhs in gold. We accepted that and after
the engagement, they demanded Rs ten lakhs worth of gold. We managed to arrange that because after
all, she is our girl and this was being done for her happiness.
Two months later, my father got a call from my sister saying that her in-laws are scolding her and using
abuse words and she asked my father to come immediately to take her back home. “I won’t stay here”,
she said and cried a lot. That call was a shock for my parents. Immediately, my father left for my sister’s
in-laws’ place which is an hour’s journey from our village.
By the time my father reached there, my sister was killed by her husband and his family members. They
killed my sister very cruelly; they poured kerosene, petrol and acid on her body and burnt her. We never
imagined this would happen. She never told us anything about her in-laws torturing her. She hid this
from us and kept it in her heart.
My father was shocked and he fainted. After some time, my father informed me and asked me to come
to the village immediately. I have all the evidence but the police officials are manipulating the case
because they got their share. I tried a lot but the police did not arrest them. They got bail from the court
and now they are roaming free.
-Sudhish
--
I am a single mother with a four-year-old daughter. My husband left us when she was hardly a month
old. He wanted more money from my already-burdened parents. They had given 13 lakh rupees towards
dowry. After the wedding, I contributed 3.5 lakhs from my salary. I am a software engineer and my
husband is a civil engineer. I grew up thinking that dowry harassment and gender discrimination rarely
happen anymore and did not imagine that this could happen to me and my child.
-Anjani
31
life. I work in a senior position and earn more than Rs 1.2 lakhs a month. Three years ago, I married my
boyfriend (who is equally qualified, not more). Little did I know that this wedding will be the biggest
nightmare of my life. The guy’s parents showed some signs of trying to suppress my family right since
the beginning but I was foolish to overlook them.
During the three-day wedding programme, there were endless hurtful comments made by them about
how my parents are not giving them enough. They said, “Kya aap ko pata hai ek MBA ladke ki kya value
hai? Aap ko toh sawa rupaiye ki shaadi kar deni chahiye thi. Hum ne toh apni beti ko gaadi di thi.” We
had to hear this even though my father agreed to all that they asked for and spent Rs 25 lakhs on my
wedding.
My parents cried because of this and that was the worst day of my life. I could not live with myself seeing
my parents being humiliated. There is not a single day in my life when I do not feel the angst because of
this incident.
-Nilakshi
--
We are a family of five living in a village in Andhra Pradesh. I am working as a software engineer in
Hyderabad. My younger sister finished her MBA and got married in 2009. At the time of her
engagement, the groom’s side asked us for a dowry of Rs five lakhs in gold. We accepted that and after
the engagement, they demanded Rs ten lakhs worth of gold. We managed to arrange that because after
all, she is our girl and this was being done for her happiness.
Two months later, my father got a call from my sister saying that her in-laws are scolding her and using
abuse words and she asked my father to come immediately to take her back home. “I won’t stay here”,
she said and cried a lot. That call was a shock for my parents. Immediately, my father left for my sister’s
in-laws’ place which is an hour’s journey from our village.
By the time my father reached there, my sister was killed by her husband and his family members. They
killed my sister very cruelly; they poured kerosene, petrol and acid on her body and burnt her. We never
imagined this would happen. She never told us anything about her in-laws torturing her. She hid this
from us and kept it in her heart.
My father was shocked and he fainted. After some time, my father informed me and asked me to come
to the village immediately. I have all the evidence but the police officials are manipulating the case
because they got their share. I tried a lot but the police did not arrest them. They got bail from the court
and now they are roaming free.
-Sudhish
--
I am a single mother with a four-year-old daughter. My husband left us when she was hardly a month
old. He wanted more money from my already-burdened parents. They had given 13 lakh rupees towards
dowry. After the wedding, I contributed 3.5 lakhs from my salary. I am a software engineer and my
husband is a civil engineer. I grew up thinking that dowry harassment and gender discrimination rarely
happen anymore and did not imagine that this could happen to me and my child.
-Anjani
31
