A new social-media game is drawing renewed attention to an age-old problem in India - the illegal practice of dowry, or the transfer of wealth from a bride's family to a groom's family to coax him into marriage, a practice often abused by families that make excess demands.
一款新的社交媒体游戏正在印度重新引起人们关注一个由来已久的问题，即非法索要嫁妆的陋习，也就是新娘家将财富转移到新郎家以哄得男方结婚。一些家庭在索要嫁妆方面经常提出过份的要求。
The Facebook game is called “Angry Brides” - reminiscent of the mobile-phone sensation “Angry Birds.”
社交网站Facebook推出的这款游戏名为“愤怒的新娘”。这令人想起热门的手机游戏“愤怒的小鸟”。
The player assumes the role of a Hindu goddess whose many arms can throw projectiles like stiletto-heeled shoes and construction boots at potential husbands.
在“愤怒的新娘”这个游戏中，玩家以拥有多个手臂的印度教女神手上拿着的细高跟鞋和长统靴等物品为武器追打几位新郎。
Every time the player hits one of the desirable professional men, the amount of money he demands for marriage goes down. The matchmaking company that developed the game says it's a lighthearted way to inspire women to take a stand against dowry.
玩家每打中新郎中的一个就能得分，而新郎索要的嫁妆资金就会减少。开发这款游戏的媒介公司说，这款游戏旨在以一种心情愉快的方式鼓励女性抵制嫁妆陋习。
Ranjana Kumari of the Delhi-based Center for Social Research has spent the last 30 years fighting the dark side of dowry. Kumari says dowry was historically meant to be a blessing, but now is often a curse.
位于新德里的社会研究中心的兰贾娜·库马里过去30年来一直在对抗嫁妆陋习。库马里说，过去新娘家以嫁妆的形式向新郎家赠送财富的本意是要表达祝福，但是现在这常常成为一种祸端。
“Ultimately it ends up in the hands of these in-laws who are greedy, who have lust for money, who would want to live a life of luxury without making effort for it," she said.
库马里说：“嫁妆最终落在这些贪婪、贪财而想不劳而获贪图富裕生活的女婿手中。”
"Prathy," a dowry-dispute victim who withheld her name for fear of reprisals, saw her parents lose everything.
"When I moved into my husband's house after getting married, they beat me a lot because they wanted more dowry," she said. "He used to say, 'the only way I will keep you is if you bring 50,000 rupees from your parent's house.' My parents don't have any money anymore."
这位妇女说，她结婚后搬到丈夫家住，婆家人常常打她，因为他们想要更多嫁妆。她丈夫曾对她说，我不把你赶走的唯一办法就是你从娘家拿5万卢比来。她说，她父母再没有什么钱了。
“My parents gave a gold ring, a gold chain, a fridge, a television set, a bed. Clothes for the whole family and relatives," she said. "They gave almost everything that is usually included in dowry and even then these people kept asking for more.”
Technically illegal
Officially, dowry has been illegal in India for more than 50 years, but it remains widespread. Thousands of women are killed each year in dowry disputes, and, according to Kumari, India's rising wealth exacerbates the problem.
在印度，索要嫁妆的做法50多年来一直被法律禁止。但是这种行为仍广泛存在。印度每年有数千名妇女因为嫁妆争端而死亡。
"For the poor, there is a kind of agreement that you can only do this much," says Kumari. "So there is a kind of a level playing field for those families. But for the middle class, there is almost mindless desire to live in luxury."
库马里说：“对穷人来说，就像是有种协议似的，你只能提供那么多嫁妆，所以对这些家庭来说还比较公平。而那些中产阶级，就会有想过奢侈生活的那种近乎愚蠢的欲望。”
Experts say there is a clear link between the practice of dowry and the sharply declining girl-to-boy ratio of babies in India.
专家指出，索要嫁妆的现象与印度的男女比例严重失调有显著关系。
Canada's Center for Global Health Research released findings last year suggesting selective abortion may account for up to 12 million missing girls over the last three decades.
加拿大的全球健康研究中心去年公布的报告显示，过去30年印度因选择性堕胎而“消失”的女孩可能多达1200万。
Kumari says families want to avoid dowry obligations, and points out that some abortion clinics have even used that fact to market their services.
库马里说，印度家庭不想提供嫁妆，她指出，一些堕胎诊所甚至利用这一点来招揽生意。
“There used to be a lot of advertisements you would see around Delhi and smaller city towns and villages - and it would be clearly displayed: 'please spend 5,000 Rupees today, to save your 500,000 Rupees tomorrow," says Kumari.
库马里说：“过去你可以在新德里各处、在较小的市镇和村庄看到许多这样的广告，广告词清楚地写明：‘今天花5000卢比，明天你能节省50万卢比。’”
"Manpreet," a dowry-dispute victims whose name we've withheld to protect her identity, says she fought back against her family to carry her child to term after its gender was discovered.
"They found out through ultrasound it was a girl, and my in-laws said we don't need a girl," she said. "When I refused to get an abortion done, all of them beat me a lot."
Women's advocates say India needs a fast-track legal mechanism to crack down on dowry cases, and that women need to develop the courage to refuse dowry demands, even if that means remaining unmarried.
妇女维权人士说，印度需要建立一项快速通道的法律机制，以打击索要嫁妆的陋习。就算意味着不能结婚，妇女也要学会鼓起勇气拒绝男方提出的嫁妆要求。 |