If you have been following the news regarding the horrific death of 26-year-old Noida-based Nikki Bhati, two arresting visuals allegedly shot by her sister Kanchan, will refuse to leave your mind. On August 21, Nikki, who was married into the same family as her sister nine years ago, could not be saved as she suffered 70% burns on her body. In one video, her husband, Vipin Bhati, allegedly assaults her and drags her out of the house by her hair; and another shows Nikki limping down the stairs ablaze.
She leaves behind a minor son who can be seen in a third video saying he saw his father slap his mother and set her on fire. Today, the police are investigating if this incident was indeed a dowry-related murder or if it was abetment to suicide (the degree of punishment varies).
In this piece by Alisha Dutta though, the poignant story of a 30-year-old neighbour of Nikki’s parents is just as frightening.
Traumatised by Nikki’s death, Renu (name changed to protect identity) says to the reporter, “It could have been me.” Nearly a decade ago, Renu had to record a video of herself being assaulted by her husband and his family for refusing to accept their dowry demand. “Everyone thought that I lacked something and that my stories were fabricated,” she says.
Years ago, when my mother walked out of her in-laws’ house after being verbally abused, her father believed her, yet urged her to return. Patriarchal conditioning meant that his instinct acted on saving his child’s supposed ‘dignity’ rather than sheltering her that day. My mother and Renu’s plight is shared by several women.
A piece in Article 14, says that ‘dowry death’ is the subcontinent’s indigenous contribution to global violence against women — a unique phenomenon where brides (technically women married for less than seven years) are killed because their families cannot meet financial or material demands from the groom’s side.
In a previous newsletter, we spoke of how in the National Crime Records Bureau report of 2022, up to 6,459 dowry deaths were reported that year, with 3,499 cases pending investigation from the previous year. That is the latest data available on the subject, yet the news has been flooded with cases of young women dying after being harassed for dowry. Each incident is just as disturbing as the other, with many complaining to their parents of the torture they endure before their death.
Reporter Aaratrika Bhaumik who has been researching the subject for an article in The Hindu, says that in the 1950s, there were widespread reports of young brides being burnt to death by their husbands and in-laws. These murders were frequently disguised as “kitchen accidents”. Mounting public outrage, particularly the protests of women parliamentarians and activists, compelled Parliament to legislate against this practice, she says.
Although laws have been enacted to punish offenders who seek dowry, the act of asking for cars and cash is yet to disappear. At a time when people ask if dowry is still a prevalent concept, families continue to provide expensive, sometimes debt-causing ‘gifts’ for their daughter’s weddings. The courts too have, on occasions, suggested that women abuse the laws created to protect them. What can change this abusive cycle?
Renu, the neighbour, who has a small tailoring unit of her own now, suggests, “A family must listen to their daughter if she says she is being abused. They must not send her back (to the in-laws’ house) fearing what society might say.”
Her advice does not just encompass a fundamental need from society to believe in its women, but also moots economic independence. This is clearly the only way to go.
Wordsworth
Gender ideology: US President Donald Trump told 40 states that they must eliminate parts of lessons that focus on LGBTQIA+ issues from federally funded sexual education materials. This is his latest effort to only recognise the male and female sex. He suggests that states that do not follow this are propagating a ‘gender ideology’ in children’s minds. This contradicts the American Medical Association, which says that extensive scientific research suggests sex and gender are better understood as a spectrum than as an either-or definition.
Toolkit
The National Annual Report and Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025 released on August 29 is based on a survey of 12,770 women across 31 cities. Overall, six in 10 women surveyed felt “safe” in their city, but 40% still considered themselves “not so safe” or “unsafe”. An article in The Hindu which analysed the report revealed sharp drops in perceptions of safety at night, particularly in public transport and recreational spaces.
Ouch!
“Nowadays there is a lot of talk on live-in relationships… From what I have seen, these are not women-friendly things. When you are pregnant tomorrow, who will take you for an abortion?”
Kangana Ranaut, Hindi cinema actor and MP
People we meet
Dhamayanthi Sriram | Photo Credit: Venkat Balaji
Dhamayanthi Sriram is eight and is the youngest to represent India in the under 18 category for women at the Asian Surfing Championship (ASC) 2025 in Mahabalipuram held between August 3 and 12. She took to the surfboard when she was two and a half and enjoys spending every weekend and school holiday in the water. “Before I participated in the championship, I was nervous and was scared of losing but I’ve realised that it makes you a better surfer,” she says. The future is far away but Dhamayanthi is deciding between being an author, tennis star, and a surfer, or perhaps all. For now, school it is.
