Dowry Deaths: One Woman Dies Every Hour in India

Bangalore: One woman dies every hour due to dowry related reasons on an average in the country, which has seen a steady rise in such cases between 2007 and 2011, according to official data.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures state that 8,233 dowry deaths were reported in 2012 from various states. The statistics work out to one death per hour. The number of deaths under this category of crime against women was 8,618 in 2011 but the overall conviction rate was 35.8 per cent, slightly above the 32 per cent conviction rate recorded in the latest data for 2012.
The number of dowry deaths in the country has seen a steady growth during the period between 2007 and 2011. While in 2007, 8,093 such deaths were reported, the numbers rose to 8,172 and 8,383 in 2008 and 2009 respectively. In 2010, 8,391 such deaths were reported, according to the NCRB.
The agency is the central nodal department to collect and process crime statistics at the national level. Police officials who deal with these crimes blame a variety of reasons.
Suman Nalwa, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police (Special Unit for Women and Children), said the problem is not only limited to the lower or middle class. "Higher socio-economic strata is equally involved in such practices. Even the highly educated class of our society do not say no to dowry. It runs deep into our social system," she said.
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