In a heartbreaking case from Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur district, 27-year-old Rithanya ended her life just two and a half months after her wedding, allegedly driven to suicide by relentless dowry harassment from her husband and in-laws.
Her parents had hosted a wedding worth ₹2.5 crore. They reportedly gave 300 sovereigns of gold and a ₹70-lakh Volvo car as dowry. But all this was evidently not enough. The groom’s family allegedly insisted that she bring the remaining 200 sovereigns that were supposedly promised before the marriage took place.
Rithanya’s story is not an anomaly. According to a 2024 research paper “An Insight into Dowry Deaths: The Untold Stigma and Torment of a Social Evil” many such marriages, largely arranged, end fatally within two years.
It is deeply disturbing that Rithanya’s husband is a 28-year-old member of Gen Z, born in 1997, a full 36 years after the Dowry Prohibition Act came into force in 1961. We keep hearing that millennials and Gen Z are tearing down old norms, challenging outdated traditions, and reimagining the future. Clearly, someone didn’t get the memo.
Meanwhile, data suggests some progress on other fronts. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2022-23 reported that female labour force participation rose to 37%, a notable increase from 32.8 in 2021-22.
And yet, dowry harassment remains a grim reality. In 2022, 13,479 cases were registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. In the same year, 6,450 dowry-related deaths were recorded. Registered deaths and cases linked to dowry have declined marginally, but the NCRB report underscores that the data records the incidence of registered crimes only, and not the actual number of crimes committed.
And as disturbing as Rithanya’s death is, what’s unfolding in its aftermath is equally alarming.
Instead of keeping the focus on the alleged dowry harassment that drove her to end her life, parts of the Tamil media and sections of society have fixated on a single voice note she left for her father. In it, she reportedly says she couldn’t imagine living with another man after having lived with one.
Her father, while mourning her, went on to publicly praise her for upholding the principle of “oruvanukku oruthi”, a phrase that goes far beyond monogamy. In the cultural context, it’s often interpreted as chastity, purity, or a woman’s moral duty to remain with one man even at the cost of her well-being or her life.
This shift in narrative, from dowry violence to honour, is not just misplaced, it’s dangerous.
Because what it suggests is this: a woman leaving her marriage, rebuilding her life, or choosing another partner brings “shame.” But a woman dying silently, crushed by abuse and pressure, is seen as noble.
Rithanya’s story and those of countless women like her must remain about justice, not sacrifice. About accountability, not honour. About ending a system that continues to take lives, quietly and violently, even today.
InkSights is a monthly art series by NWMI member Anupama Bijur viewing current affairs through a gender and news lens.
