India recorded 5,737 dowry-linked deaths in 2024
India recorded 5,737 dowry-linked deaths of women in 2024, around 16 a day. The practice has been illegal for over six decades but remains deeply rooted in society.
India registered 5,737 deaths linked to dowry demands in 2024, an average of about 16 women every day. Dowry is the handover of money, property, vehicles, jewellery or other valuables from a bride's family to the groom or his relatives as part of a marriage arrangement. India banned the custom under its Dowry Prohibition Act in 1961, yet demands for cash and goods are still made before and after weddings.
Gender bias
India has long struggled with entrenched gender bias, and being born female is often seen as a disadvantage. Although prenatal sex determination is illegal, research shows that nearly 9 million female foetuses were aborted between 2000 and 2019. The preference for sons comes from social attitudes: men are seen as future breadwinners, while women are regarded as financial burdens whose main purpose is to be married off. In return for taking on the bride, grooms and their families demand luxury items.
Dowry as a market
In some communities dowry demands work like a market, with families negotiating according to the groom's education, occupation and income. Government employees and men with secure, well-paid jobs can command particularly high demands. Even families that reject the word "dowry" may accept expensive gifts presented as voluntary offerings to the bride or groom.
The demands often continue after the wedding. Many women are pressed to keep bringing extra money, property or luxury goods from their families. Those who cannot may face harassment, physical violence, abandonment or, in the most extreme cases, death.
The wedding industry
Dowry is also tied to India's vast wedding economy, estimated at around $130 billion a year, with families spending heavily on ceremonies, jewellery, clothing and gifts. Social pressure is immense for many, and some borrow money or sell assets to cover wedding costs and dowry demands.
Official crime data recorded 35,493 dowry-linked deaths between 2017 and 2022. Police also register tens of thousands of cases each year involving cruelty and harassment tied to dowry demands. Activists and researchers say the true scale is hard to measure because many cases go unreported.
