dowry

One of my closest friend grew up in UAE and now studies medicine in India. She grew up in a traditional household in a culture that is as far from mine as it gets. From the start of our friendship, we have continually shocked and challenged each other with our observations of how our cultures work, especially in regards to women.

The other day, she missed one of our regular MSN gab fests and the next time I caught her online, she apologized telling me that she'd had to be present for a surprise autopsy, "another dowry death". She said the body of the woman was covered in severe burns, allegedly she had been cooking in the kitchen at 1 in the morning when the stove spontaneously exploded. "We can always tell dowry deaths by the ridiculous excuses" she explained, "if a young woman dies within weeks after her marriage because of completely outrageous circumstances, we know it's a dowry death".