Bride burning has got to be the ultimate in marital abuse. In some cultures the bride often has to bring a dowry into the family at the time of the marriage. Some families consider the bride´s dowry to be too low and the bride´s family are asked to pay more money to the groom´s family. If the money is not forthcoming the brides can be assaulted or killed. Usually these women are burned to death in the kitchen and the death made to look like an accident or suicide.
The practice of Bride Burning clearly shows that a society has a very low view of the status of women and does not even value the life of the woman; her existence is dependant upon the sucess of business transaction.
The United Nations estimates that some 25,000 brides are burned each year by their in-laws in India alone, because they fail to meet dowry demands. Of these at least 5,000 women die and the rest suffer burns with many carrying their disfigurement for the rest of their lives.
