Dowry deaths are the murder of married women who are killed or driven to suicide following dowry disputes often after the bride has been severely harassed by the groom and his family.Isfahan man kills daughter over inability to pay dowry Public Broadcasting Service, Washington DC (August 16, 2010)Kiani et al. (2014), A Survey on Spousal Abuse of 500 Victims in Iran, American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 35(1):50–54, March 2014 Dowry deaths are found predominantly in India, Pakistan,PAKISTAN: The social injustice behind the practice of dowry-when greed dictates society Asian Human Rights Commission (2014) Nepal, Bangladesh, and Iran.
India reports the highest total number of dowry deaths worldwide annually. In 2023, over 6,100 dowry-related deaths in India were reported and over 15,000 cases were recorded. From 1999 to 2016, Female dowry deaths account for 40 to 50 percent of all female homicides recorded annually in India, representing a stable trend. Pakistan is predicted to have nearly 2000 dowry deaths occur every year.Subhani, D., Imtiaz, M., & Afza, S. (2009), To estimate an equation explaining the determinants of Dowry, MePRC Journal, LMU Munich, GermanyAnderson, Siwan (2000), "The economics of dowry payments in Pakistan", Mimeo, Tilburg University Press, Center for Economic Research
Dowry deaths represent one manifestation of violence against women. Despite some countries banning the practice, it continues as a part of long-standing tradition. Countries in which dowry is a common practice tend to continue to practice arranged marriages. While the purpose of dowry is to provide stability for a newly married couple, the practice has morphed into a pressure on the bride’s family to give enough.Karki S. A study on Dowry Related Violence in Nepal. (2014). Informal Sector Service Centre [INSEC] for human rights and social justice. https://www.insec.org.np/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1409727203.pdf This can mean families saving for their daughter’s dowry beginning at her birth, and even a desire from parents to not have a daughter, to the extent to which female infant neglect and abortion of female fetuses is more common. Additionally, the amount of dowry expected tends to be less the younger the daughter is, which can lead to daughters being married off at a younger age.
Dowry has no religious significance, and is practiced by Muslims, Christians, and Hindus across South Asia. Dowry differs from Mahr, an Islamic practice where the bridegroom gives the bride property or money for her hand in marriage. Dowry death, and particularly bride burnings (a form of dowry murder/suicide), is relatively new phenomenon, not rooted in longstanding cultural practices, which has eroded the status of women.
Discourse The term “dowry death” has been criticized for improperly communicating the problem. People have argued against using the term dowry “death” as opposed to “murder” when discussing the topic due to the passive tone it uses to address this form of violence against women. Alternatively, others say there should be more of a focus on bride harassment by the groom and his family, as harassment is what comes before the murder/death of the bride.
Dowry death is also difficult to document as it is often the cumulation of many different interpersonal conflicts and pressures. When reporting statistics for dowry deaths, it is often separated from “domestic violence.” Scholars, particularly those working in western contexts, have emphasized the importance of making the connection between dowry deaths and domestic violence experienced by women across the world.
India Dowry deaths relate to a bride's suicide or killing committed by her husband and his family soon after the marriage because of their dissatisfaction with the dowry. It is typically the culmination of a series of prior domestic abuses by the husband's family.Jane Rudd, "Dowry-murder: An example of violence against women." Women's studies international forum 24#5 (2001).Meghana Shah, "Rights under fire: The inadequacy of international human rights instruments in combating dowry murder in India." Connecticut Journal of International Law 19 (2003): 209+. Most dowry deaths occur when the young woman, unable to bear the harassment and torture, dies by suicide. Most of these suicides are by hanging, poisoning or by fire. Dowry homicides are most commonly burning, drowning, and hanging/strangulation. Sometimes the woman is killed by being set on fire by her husband or inlaws; this is known as "bride burning", and is sometimes disguised as suicide or accident. Death by burning of Indian women has been more frequently attributed to dowry conflicts. In dowry deaths, the groom's family is the perpetrator of murder or suicide.Oldenburg, V. T. (2002). Dowry murder: The imperial origins of a cultural crime. Oxford University Press.
India has by far the highest number of dowry-related deaths in the world according to Indian National Crime Record Bureau. In 2012, 8,233 dowry death cases were reported across India. Dowry issues cause 1.4 deaths per year per 100,000 women in India.Provisional 2011 Census Data, Government of India (2011)Crime statistics in India , Government of India (2011)http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-CII2011/Statistics2011.pdf Crime statistics in India , Government of India (2011)
According to a 1996 report by the Indian Police Service, every year it receives over 2,500 reports of bride-burning.Bride-burning claims hundreds in India: Practice sometimes disguised as suicide or accident CNN, August 18, 1996. The Indian National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports that there were 8,331 dowry death cases registered in India in 2011. Incidents of dowry deaths during the year 2008 (8,172) have increased by 14.4 per cent over the 1998 level (7,146),Point No.17, Dowry Deaths while India's population grew at 17.6% over the 10-year period.Decadal Growth Rates in India Census of India, Government of India, New Delhi (2012) The accuracy of these figures have received a great deal of scrutiny from critics who believe dowry deaths are consistently under-reported.
Prohibition The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 prohibits the request, payment or acceptance of a dowry, "as consideration for the marriage", where "dowry" is defined as a gift demanded or given as a precondition for a marriage. Gifts given without a precondition are not considered dowry, and are legal. Asking or giving of dowry can be punished by an imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to . It replaced several pieces of anti-dowry legislation that had been enacted by various Indian states. Murder and suicide under compulsion are addressed by India's criminal penal code.
Indian women's rights activists campaigned for more than 40 years for laws to contain dowry deaths, such as the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 and the more stringent Section 498a of Indian Penal Code (enacted in 1983). Under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA), a woman can put a stop to the dowry harassment by approaching a domestic violence protection officer. After conducting field research, Shalu Nigam questioned the effectiveness of these laws, writing, "courts frequently ended up offering them compulsory counseling, which entails undesired results and narrow options," and noting "Laws could neither address the immediate needs of victims nor could offer practical remedies in terms of medical aid, short-stay homes, creche facilities, psychological support, shelter homes or economic or material assistance to the women which they need the most."
Although Indian laws against dowries have been in effect for decades, they have been largely criticised as being ineffective. The practice of dowry deaths and murders continues to take place unchecked in many parts of India and this has further added to the concerns of enforcement.
Pakistan In Pakistan, the giving and expectation of a dowry (called Jahez) is part of the culture, with over 95% of marriages in every region of Pakistan involving transfer of a dowry from the bride's family to a groom's family.Zeba Sathar, Cynthia Lloyd, et al. (2001–2002) "Adolescents and Youth in Pakistan" pp.92–116, Population Council (with support from UNICEF)
Dowry deaths have been rising in Pakistan for decades.Yasmeen, S. (1999) "Islamisation and democratisation in Pakistan: Implications for women and religious minorities", South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies 22(s1), pages 183–195 Ibraz, T. S., Fatima, A., & Aziz, N. (1993) "Uneducated and Unhealthy: The Plight of Women in Pakistan" [with Comments], The Pakistan Development Review Vol.32 No.4 pp.905–915 Dowry-related violence and deaths have been widespread since Pakistan became an independent nation in 1947.Hussain, R. (1999) "Community perceptions of reasons for preference for consanguineous marriages in Pakistan", Journal of Biosocial Science Vol.31 No.4 pp.449–461 Pakistan is predicted to have nearly 2,000 dowry-related deaths per year.Operational Note: Pakistan Refworld, A United Nations initiative (August 2011), see pages 16–21
There is some controversy on the dowry death rates in Pakistan. Some publications suggest Pakistan officials do not record dowry deaths, and that the death rates are culturally under-reported and may be significantly higher. For example, Nasrullah reports total average annual stove burn rates of 33 per 100,000 women in Pakistan, of which 49% were intentional, or an average annual rate of about 16 per 100,000 women.Juliette Terzieff (October 27, 2002) "Pakistan's Fiery Shame: Women Die in Stove Deaths" WeNews, New York
Pakistan's Dowry and Marriage Gifts (Restriction) Bill, 2008, restricts dowry to PKR 30,000 (~US$300) while the total value of bridal gifts is limited to PKR 50,000. Ashraf Javed (June 9, 2013) "Done to a daughter over dowry", The Nation (Pakistan) The law made demands for a dowry by the groom's family illegal, as well as public display of dowry before or during the wedding. However, this and similar anti-dowry laws of 1967, 1976 and 1998, as well as Family Court Act of 1964 have proven to be unenforceable. Activists such as SACHET, Pakistan claim the police refuse to register and prosecute allegations of dowry-related domestic violence and fatal injuries.(2006) Fight Against Dowry , SACHET (Pakistan); also see Dr. A.Q. Khan's July 2003 foreword on widespread Dowry problems to the Prime Minister of Pakistan
Nepal Dowry is particularly common in the Terai region, constituting over half of Nepal’s population, and spanning areas of both India and Nepal. Although not as common as in other regions, dowry murders/deaths are one manifestation of what people have referred to as a femicide in Nepal. Undoing the dowry system continues to be a goal of organizations working to end violence against women in Nepal.Nepal Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) (51st Session) Report of Non-Governmental Organization. (2025). Informal Sector Service Centre [INSEC] for human rights and social justice. https://www.insec.org.np/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/UPR-Report-English-2025_Press-Copy_20820826.pdf
In 2009, dowry was banned in Nepal. However, there seems to be no enforcement of the ban.
Bangladesh