Parents who give their daughters-in-law a hard time for not being able to fulfil their desire of “preserving their family tree”, need to be educated that it is their son and not his wife whose chromosomes will decide the child’s gender, the Delhi High Court has observed.
The high court, which was dealing with a case of dowry death of a woman after being allegedly harassed by her husband and in-laws for bringing insufficient dowry and giving birth to two daughters, said in contemporary times, the idea of a woman's worth being tied to material considerations contradicts the principles of equality and dignity.
“The persistent prevalence of regressive mindsets and instances exemplified by cases involving insatiable demands for dowry underscores a broader societal concern. It highlights the challenges faced by married women, whose intrinsic value and dignity should not be contingent upon their parents' ability to meet the insatiable financial demands from their in-laws,” Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said.
