A Big ‘NO’ to Dowry: Kerala Bride Calls Off the Wedding on FB

Last updated: 2023/08/15 at 10:29 AM

Sanaa Mehra Published December 9, 2015

4 Min Read

Dowry is the money or property that is given by the bride to her husband when they get married. In India, the custom of asking for dowry is prohibited under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1962. However, this does not affect the practice of asking for dowry at all. People in our country still practice the dowry culture. In 2015, people still said things like ” MBA Kar lo beta, dahej double ho jaayega.”

The bride’s family is so intent on giving her a happy and comfortable life that they generally agree to pay any amount of money or property as dowry. It doesn’t even register that what they are doing is technically a crime. The families these days tend to pay more attention to the husband’s pockets than his character.

This eventually ends up in unhappy marriages.

Remya Ramachandran, a woman from Kerala, has prevented herself from suffering the same fate many women have gone through in our country. She broke off her engagement very publically, on Facebook, because her fiance’s family had asked her family for dowry.

This courageous woman from Thrissur in Kerala has said that the demands for dowry started after she was already engaged to her fiancée. There had been no mention of dowry before the engagement. This was, in fact, a brilliant move on the fiancée’s part. Since broken marriages and engagements are looked down upon in our society, the family must have thought that Remya’s family would definitely pay the dowry. Hence, they asked for the dowry once they already confirmed the engagement.

Remya broke off the engagement because she is strictly against the practice of dowry. She is quoted to have said:

“Before the engagement, they had said they “only wanted me.” Post the engagement; they demanded 50 sovereigns of gold and 5 lakh rupees.”

Following is the post that she had uploaded on Facebook:

“This is for all those who ask me about my wedding date. The family, which earlier said they wanted only me, demanded 50 sovereigns of gold and 5 lakh rupees after the engagement. I am against the practice of dowry, and I believe that buying such an unreliable man and his family at such a big sum is a loss. Hence, I am calling off the wedding. Thanks”

This action that she took has been called a bold move by many. She has been praised for her courage to break off the engagement in such a manner.

A few days after her post went viral, Remya posted another message thanking everyone for their support. She said that what she had done should be taken as an example to take action against the incorrect social norms in society.

What Remya has done should be an example for every other woman in the country. Love and respect cannot be bought, and no one should ever have to pay anything to get married. As Remya said:

“Buying such an unreliable man and his family at such a big sum is a loss.”

So all the ladies out there, if any man and his family ever ask you to pay something in exchange for marriage, run! He’s definitely not worth it. Have the courage to stand up for yourself and know that you deserve better, way better.