The pledge of the parents of 21 youngsters not to demand dowry at the wedding of their sons is an example worth emulating by all who have sons as well as daughters of marriageable age. The system of demanding dowry or the tilak tradition — seeking cash beyond the reach of the girl’s parents — is rampant in some Terai districts like Bara. Which explains the reason why the district had to take the initiative of kick-starting a campaign against dowry to weed out this evil from society. Several Nepali women are learnt to have been tortured, maimed or even murdered by the greedy in-laws or other members of the husband’s side for not being able to bring sufficient dowry or failing to fulfill their ever-increasing demands for cash and kind. Though the law does not allow anyone to seek dowry or inhumanely treat a woman on account of this lack, the incidence of such demands is on the rise.

Education can serve as an important tool to eliminate this evil. By not discriminating against the girl child, the parents must recognise the myriad benefits of sending their daughters to school. Because this is exactly where both the boys and girls learn to respect each other along with building their survival skills. Making the girls self-reliant and economically independent through academic qualifications or skill-oriented vocational training can go a long way in empowering them. The western tradition of love marriage, which is gaining popularity in the conservative Nepali society also, is another way of dealing with this malaise as dowry demand is less likely in such marriages. And in case of harassment, the victims and their families must have the courage to report the matter to the police or the appropriate agency in order to bring the guilty to book. Suffering in silence is certainly not the way out. Above all, the role media can play in generating awareness, that giving or accepting dowry is against the law, can be of utmost importance and consequence.