Description

Laws, Justice and Rights for Women in the Modern Era
Editor: Prof. Dr. Yogesh Kumar Gupta, Ishan Ahmad and Premananda Murmu
Published by Universal Academic Books Publishers and Distributors,
New Delhi (India)
ISBN: 978-81-686113-5-1, 2026

Chapter 19

Awareness of the Dowry Prohibition Act and Its Influence on the Attitudes of Indian Young Adults and Adolescents

Ntombizodwa Octavia Mbali Ntuli
Doctoral Student, National Forensic Sciences University, Delhi Campus, New Delhi (India)

Abstract

Dowry remains a strong cultural practice in India even though it has been legally prohibited for more than six decades. This Dowry Prohibition Act was established to criminalise giving and receiving of dowry and to protect women from the dowry-related abuse and violence, which has been a long ongoing issue in India. However, the continuation of dowry practice raises concern and critical questions about public awareness of the law and its impact on social attitude. This narrative review, studies the existing literature review on awareness of the Dowry Prohibition Act and its impact on attitude towards dowry among Indian adults and adolescents, with specific attention to unmarried young adults and adolescent. A narrative approach was employed to synthesise results from qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies between the year range of 2000 and 2026. Literature was retrieved from Google scholar, Pubmed and Scopus. The results were thematically analysed, resulting in four core themes: (1) awareness levels of the Dowry Prohibition Act, (2) attitude toward dowry, (3) the relationship between legal awareness and attitudes, and (4) the role of family, media, and education.

The results revealed that although there is general awareness of the existence of the Dowry Prohibition Act, there is still a lack of full knowledge of its content, penalties and enforcement procedures remain limited. The attitude towards dowry is influenced by cultural norms, family expectations, and social pressures, mostly dominate legal knowledge. Importantly, the awareness of the existence of the law does not always results into negative attitude or rejection of dowry practices. The findings highlighted how ineffective legal frame-work are at bringing about social change in the absence of effective enforcement and socio-cultural interventions. Reducing the persistence of dowry practice requires strengthening legal literacy, involving gender-equiable education, and engaging families and community leaders.

Keywords

Dowry Prohibition Act, legal awareness, attitudes toward dowry, descriptive narrative review, India.

1. INTRODUCTION

Dowry, the long-standing cultural practice from historical ages in many parts of India. It was initially intended to offer support to the newly married couples by providing financial security and the overall household resources for their future life ahead of them. In simple words, dowry was never viewed as involuntary but voluntary contribution aimed at ensuring the well-being of the bride and helping the newly wedded couples establish an independent life. Although dowry in India originated within Hindu marriages, it has now spread across all communities in India, cutting across caste, religion, class and regional boundaries.