Kerala To Appoint Dowry Prohibition Officers, College Students May Have To Sign No Dowry Bond

Amid the recent spike in dowry-related cases and deaths in Kerala, the government has amended its Dowry Prohibition rules to appoint 'dowry prohibition officers' in all 14 districts as part of taking stringent measures against the menace.

State Health Minister Veena George said the post of dowry prohibition officers had already existed on a regional basis in three districts-Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode-and it has now been expanded to all districts.

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The district women and child development officers would act as dowry prohibition officer in each district, she said here in a statement.

What the initiatives say

As part of the initiatives, the Director of Women and Child Development has been appointed as the Chief Dowry Prohibition officer.

"The appointment of the dowry prohibition officers is part of the government's efforts to crack down on dowry in view of increasing cases now-a-days," George said.

Noting that the first phase of the training of district officers has been completed, she said the government had already invited expression of interest from voluntary organisations for assisting women in complaints related to dowry.

Besides this, steps have been taken to set up district advisory boards and intensify awareness programmes, she explained.

In a related development, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan recently observed a day-long fast urging people to root out the menace has suggested that the vice-chancellors of the universities in the state to make students sign a bond that they would not accept or give dowry before they are awarded their degree certificates.

Hon'ble Governor Shri Arif Mohammed Khan ending the day long fast against #Dowry at Gandhi Bhavan , Trivandrum. He also gave lime juice to elderly Gandhians present at the function, to end their fast :PRO, Kerala Raj Bhavan pic.twitter.com/c8iuYYH0VQ

¡ª Kerala Governor (@KeralaGovernor) July 14, 2021

"Vice-chancellors suggested that not only the students at the time of admission but also before giving them degrees must be asked to sign a bond. And all those who are being appointed in the university, they should also be asked to sign a bond," Khan said.

"The signing of the bond should not be restricted to students but also faculty members should be made to sign the bond. In the meeting with the vice-chancellors of the universities, suggestions came up why only students, parents, but also at the time if you want admission, you will have to sign the bond. Universities cannot and should not allow their degree to be used as a license to increase the price of the bridegroom in the marriage market," the Governor said.

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Recently, Kerala was rocked by a series of suicides by women over alleged dowry harassment by their in-laws.

According to the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, both taking and giving dowry is a punishable crime, so it is not mentioned by that name but is referred to as a 'gift' in Kerala.