Society Needs to be Taught that a Father’s Chromosomes Decide the Gender of the Child: High Court
Image Source: Woman's Day
The Delhi High Court was dealing with a case of dowry death of a woman after being allegedly tortured by her husband and in-laws for not bringing enough money and giving birth to two daughters.
The husband who applied for bail was quashed by the High Court, which observed the case to be an utterly disheartening situation. “Parents who give their daughter-in-law a hard time for not being able to fulfill their desire of “preserving their family tree” need to be educated that it is their son’s chromosomes that decide the gender of the child and not his wife,” the Delhi High Court observed.
The High Court, in its order, said that tying a woman’s worth to material considerations such as dowry and giving birth to a male child is against the principles of equality and dignity of the woman. “The persistent prevalence of regressive mindsets and instances determined in cases involving insatiable demands for dowry underscores a broader societal concern. It highlights challenges faced by married women, whose value and dignity should not be contingent upon their parents’ ability to meet the insatiable demands from their in-laws,” said Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
The High Court expressed the case to be a disturbing scenario to witness where parents wish for the well-being of their daughter and her comfort after she leaves her paternal house and tries to settle in her matrimonial home. Instead of supporting the new bride with love and care, the brides have to undergo the unrelenting greed and harassment of the in-laws. It said that the trauma multiplies when the bride has to contend with an option such as suicide because of the harassment from her husband and her in-laws’ family, especially when there are two daughters whom she has given birth to and loved become the new ground for harassment as if she is solely responsible for the child’s gender.
“Surprisingly, the genetic science in this regard is ignored that explains the gender of the child is determined by the man’s chromosomes (X and Y) since women are the holders of two X chromosomes solely. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the outcome of fertilization depends on whether the egg is fertilized by a sperm carrying an X or Y chromosome, resulting in a girl or a boy child, respectively,” said the High Court.
The Court recalled having witnessed several cases of harassment of the wife for not providing enough dowry and not being able to ‘preserve their family tree.’ Justice Sharma said that the Court is “constrained to observe that such people need to be educated that it is their son and not their daughter-in-law whose chromosomes through the union of the married couple will decide the gender of the child.” “Even if this judgment becomes the birthplace of such enlightenment, it will go a long way to change the mindsets of perpetrators of such crimes and save lives of innocent married women,” she added.
The allegations against the accused were that he, along with his family members, used to torture his wife for dowry leading to her committing suicide. The complainant, father of the deceased woman, alleged that the accused and his family pressured his daughter for additional dowry and financial demands, also taunting and mistreating her about the girl child on a daily basis.
The High Court, in its order, said prima facie at this stage, a woman has lost her life giving birth to two daughters, which should be unacceptable to a conscientious society and such offenses have to be considered grave and serious when the trial is yet to begin. The Court has thereby rejected the bail to the husband stating, “In view of the above facts and circumstances, and since the allegations against the present accused are grave and serious in nature, the charges are yet to be framed and the material witnesses are yet to be examined, this court is not inclined to enlarge him on bail.”
The court further stated that in a society that emphasizes equality and strives for the equal progress of women and women’s empowerment, such incidents are viewed as disheartening markers on the path of societal advancement for women.
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