MUMBAI, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- An Indian textbook containing controversial excerpts about higher dowry demand for "ugly and handicapped" girls has sparked outrage.
"If a girl is ugly and handicapped, then it becomes very difficult for her to get married. To marry such girls, bridegroom and his family demand more dowry," stated the textbook for secondary and higher secondary education in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
Pictures of the text went viral on social media, with many people criticizing the the book's authors for being careless in choosing such offensive terms to portray women, and condemning the illegal and infamous dowry system in the country.
"If education itself becomes oppressive, where are we headed?" Twitter user Breakthrough India commented.
"We will withdraw the objectionable part and also issue a notice to the textbook officials concerned," state education minister Vinod Tawde told The Times of India.
Dowry refers to the money, goods, jewelry or property that the bride's family gives to the bridegroom as a condition of the marriage. The dowry system is believed to put great financial burden on the bride's family. In some cases, the dowry system leads to crime against women, ranging from emotional and physical abuse, even injury to deaths.
The practice has been illegal in India since 1961 under the Dowry Prohibition Act, but the law has been proved ineffective in many cases.
Sociologist Vidyut Bhagwat told The Times of India that dowry was "market-related" and that marriage had also become a "market."
"Mentioning 'ugly' and 'handicapped' to describe girls is in itself a very wicked and crooked way of looking at things. Why didn't the writer instead write about the anti-dowry Act and the past movements that were led to stop the practice of dowry? I feel the book should be banned," Bhagwat said.
Despite widespread condemnations, an author of the book contacted by The Times of India argued that the text was taken out of context. "We have said that these are some of the reasons why dowry exists. We have also included advisory on how girls should and can refuse to marry a groom whose family demands dowry," said the author.
While India has been making progress for women's rights, women continued to be in a subordinate status in their family and society.
