The portrait of three married women (L-R) Mamta, Kalu, Kamlesh and Kalu鈥檚 son Harshit, who were all found dead along with another child in a well in Dudu village on May 28, is pictured at the family home in Chhapya village of India鈥檚 Rajasthan state on May 31, 2022. AFP
JAIPUR,听滨苍诲颈补鈥�Before the three sisters and their children were found dead in a well, they left a message blaming the family they had married into.
Kalu, Kamlesh and Mamta Meena were victims of a dispute over dowries, the often hefty sums Indian parents pay to marry off their daughters.
The sisters had wed brothers from the same household and lived under the same roof, but suffered constant violence from their husbands and in-laws, according to the trio鈥檚 grieving relatives.
They were abused constantly, they say, including when their father failed to meet demands for more money.
All three were found dead last month near their marital home, a village on the outskirts of Jaipur, along with Kalu鈥檚 four-year-old son and infant child. Both Kamlesh and Mamta were pregnant.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 wish to die but death is better than their abuse,鈥� read a message on WhatsApp left by one of the sisters after their disappearance, a cousin said.
鈥淥ur in-laws are the reason behind our deaths. We are dying together because it鈥檚 better than dying every day.鈥�
Authorities are investigating and currently treating the deaths as suicides, a senior police officer in Jaipur told AFP.
The sisters鈥� distraught father, Sardar Meena, said life had been a living hell for his daughters, whose husbands banned them from pursuing their education and constantly harassed them for more payments.
鈥淲e had already given them so many things, you can see them in their home,鈥� he told AFP, counting off the beds, television sets and refrigerator he provided to the family.
鈥淚 am the father of six girls, there is a limit to how much I can give,鈥� added Sardar, who earns a meagre income as a farmer.
鈥淚 had educated them and just doing that was difficult.鈥�
Police have arrested the three husbands, their mother and a sister-in-law on charges of dowry harassment and spousal abuse.
AFP鈥檚 attempts to contact the men鈥檚 family were unsuccessful.
鈥楧ignity of the family鈥�
India outlawed the practice of paying dowries more than 60 years ago, and harassment or extortion over the payments is a criminal offence.
But the custom persists, particularly in rural areas, undergirded by social conventions that treat women as an economic burden and demand compensation for accepting them as brides.
Local news outlets regularly report on marital property disputes that end in murder.
Last year, a man in the southern state of Kerala was jailed for life after using venomous snakes to murder his wife and take sole control of their property, which included a new car and 500,000 rupees ($6,500) provided by her family as dowry.
Courts have also been punitive in their treatment of dowry harassment, last month jailing a man in Kerala for 10 years after his payment demands were blamed for driving his wife to suicide.
A pervasive taboo around divorce 鈥� only one in 100 Indian marriages end in dissolution 鈥� has kept married women from contemplating escape from abusive situations.
For the Meena sisters, leaving was never seen as an option, even though their relatives were aware of the violence.
鈥淥nce they were married, we thought they should remain in their marital homes, to maintain the dignity of the family,鈥� Sardar said.
鈥淚f we had gotten them remarried in another home, and if that situation turned out to be worse, then what will we do? We鈥檒l lose face.鈥�
鈥楨nd of the road鈥�
India鈥檚 National Crime Records Bureau recorded nearly 7,000 dowry-related killings in 2020 鈥� around 19 women every day.
The same agency reported that more than 1,700 women killed themselves that year over 鈥渄owry-related issues鈥�.
Both figures are dependent on reports to police, and experts say the actual number of cases is much higher, as with other data on family violence.
鈥淚n an hour, some 30 to 40 women are victims of domestic violence鈥� and these are just documented (cases), so it must be much more than that,鈥� Kavita Srivastava, an activist with India鈥檚 People鈥檚 Union for Civil Liberties, told AFP.
Srivastava said the dowry dispute involving the Meena sisters was just one part of their tormentors鈥� efforts to control their lives and restrict their independence.
The fundamental cause, she added, was a widespread social acceptance of domestic violence in India that leaves women feeling trapped in oppressive and violent relationships.
鈥淚f even one woman has to kill herself because her marital life seems like the end of the road,鈥� she said, 鈥淚 feel the Indian state has failed for those women.鈥�
RELATED STORIES
Man confesses to strangling wife to death, sits beside her body for over a day
Pakistan woman poisoned to death over dowry
Indian man accused of slashing pregnant wife鈥檚 stomach 鈥榯o check gender鈥�
Despite rapid growth, India lets its girls die