session two: DAUGHTERS OF DESPAIR - THE CHANGING FORMS OF DOWRY VIOLENCE

Visual Testimony: I am woman - I once was a mother

Expert Witness: Poonam Kathuria, SWATI, Gujarat

The testimonies that we will receive in this session will speak of the changing forms of violence that are related in direct and indirect ways to the growing practice of dowry. What are the contours of these new forms of violence that on the one hand are rooted in very moralistic patriarchal marriage norms and on the other an amoral monetised economy that is engendering new and more virulent forms of violence against women. Women who have been reduced to objects that can be devalued and destroyed at will, not only after birth, but also now thanks to science and technology before birth itself. In the increasingly popular practice of sex selective abortions, in most cases due to the burden of dowry, it is estimated that almost two million female fetuses are being terminated every year. Selling of young girls by desperate parents, trafficking of women in order to earn for their dowry, girls being married at an early age to avoid unmanageable dowries are but some of these new faces of violence that will be highlighted in this session.



from every testifyer are some more photos, below the first photo of each one you can find her testimony