Abused For Dowry, Woman In Hyderabad Dies By Suicide Along With Her Twins; Here Is What The Law Says

On June 19, 2023, a woman dying by suicide along with her twins in Hyderabad shook the country. According to reports, her family has alleged that her husband used to abuse her physically and mentally and has asked for more dowry.

G Soundarya was the daughter of K Vemanna, a 62-year-old barber, who lived in Secunderabad. He came to his shop after lunch on Monday when his wife asked him to come back home. When he rushed back home, he got the news that his daughter and her 17-month-old twins - Nithya and Nidarsh, were no more.

History Of Case

Soundarya was married to G Ganesh. According to the police, Ganesh and his family have reportedly harassed her mentally and physically while asking for more dowry.

Speaking to The Quint, Gandhi Nagar Police said, “We have registered a case under Sections 498A (dowry harassment) and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).” Ganesh and his family were being investigated since Monday, and they are likely to be arrested today, June 19.

Soundarys has passed the 12th standard and used to work in a computer shop before she got married to Ganesh, who has a salon, in 2020. They lived in Uppal. She was the youngest among four sisters and her family has alleged that Ganesh used to harass her after she birthed twins.

He revealed that he had already given his son-in-law some gold and a few lakhs as dowry. However, after the birth of the twins, he started demanding more money and even land. Vemanna has also alleged that Ganesh wanted him to give away his 2 BHK apartment.

He said that he could not give Ganesh the house, but he agreed to write off a piece of land in Yadagirigutta in his name. He added that apart from some paperwork, the registration was complete.

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History Of Abuse

Vemanna has shared in the publication that Soundarya used to come home and live with them quite often because Ganesh used to abuse her. “We have seen him hit her at least two times,” he said.

He added that Ganesh had threatened Soundarya that he would marry someone else and settle in Dubai while taunting her for gaining weight because of pregnancy (How To Deal With Body Shaming) and calling her ‘useless’. Vemanna has alleged that Ganesh’s mother used to promote his behaviour towards Soundarya.

He added, “My daughter was a brave girl. But she didn’t tell us how bad her suffering was. If she did, we would have helped her…”

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Indian Housewives Make Up For 14% Of The People Dying By Suicide

According to the National Crime Bureau Report of 2021, at least 1,64,033 people died by suicide of which 23,179 (14.1%) were Indian housewives. In the same year, 45,026 women died by suicide, and 51.5% of those were homemakers.

According to experts, unhappy marriages, physical abuse, mental harassment, and dowry are the major reasons behind the data. Aggrieved people and their friends or family can file a complaint under the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 and the Domestic Violence Act of 2005.

If you come across any woman who is living through an unhappy marriage, surviving abuse, or experiencing suicidal thoughts, suggest them seek any kind of help. Here are a few organisations and their numbers,

• National Commission for Women Helpline (7827170170)
• Multiple Action Research Group (MARG - 011 26497483/ 26496925)
• Shakti Shalini - Women’s Shelter (011 24373736/ 24373737)
• Socio Legal Information Centre (+91 24374501/ 24379855)
• All India Women’s Conference (AIWC - 10921/ (011) 23389680)
• Sakshi (0124 2562336/ 5018873)