Women should have the autonomy to exercise their right in marriage, said Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Governor of West Bengal. He talked about age of consent, dowry prohibition, and domestic violence while speaking at the valedictory function of the 75th anniversary celebrations of Ethiraj College for Women on Thursday.
Mr. Gandhi urged all students, girls especially, to read the Sarda Act or the Age of Consent Act and the Prohibition of Dowry Act. “I want autonomy to mean the right of a daughter in the family to tell the prospective in-laws [that there would be no marriage] if the dowry suggestion is not withdrawn,” he said.
The vigorous advertisements for gold put “pressure that is crushing” on middle class and lower middleclass homes, Mr. Gandhi said, adding that, “I would like all the girls studying in this college and elsewhere to say, ‘gold is beautiful except when it becomes a pressure’.”
