Marriages involving dowry should be boycotted : National Commission for Women

NEW DELHI: Marriages where dowry is accepted should be boycotted socially and politicians and celebrities, should not attend such weddings to discourage the practice, Chairperson of National Commission for Women (NCW) Mamta Sharma said today.

"Despite awareness campaigns, dowry cases have increased. Marriages where dowry is accepted should be boycotted socially and public figures like politicians and celebrities, should refrain from attending such weddings to discourage the practice" she said.

"That way, such marriages will not be popular ones and also the wrong sense of prestige attached to dowry will diminish as there is now competition in dowry matters too," she said.

Reacting to the recent Supreme Court order which ruled that police cannot arrest the accused in dowry cases automatically, Sharma said that misuse of anti-dowry law is a matter of concern, but, the percentage of such cases of misuse is very less.

"The number of cases where the anti-dowry law is misused are very few, may be just 2-3 per cent. I believe, if a complaint gets registered, then the husband should be arrested and there should be a thorough investigation into the matter," said Sharma.

Referring to the recent Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal's "insensitive" remarks involving women which had triggered a row, Sharma said that there is a need for code of conduct to be put in place to deter politicians from making insensitive comments and members making such statements should be expelled from the Parliament.

"It has become a tradition for politicians now to make insensitive statements and then merely say sorry to get out of trouble. There needs to be a code of conduct in place and MPs making such kind of comments should be expelled from the Parliament," she said

She further said that she has written to the Prime Minister, Speaker and to the West Bengal Chief Minister to take action against Pal.

" Mamata Banerjee has been an activist herself and she should have shown some sensitivity and take action against the MP," she said.