Saying NO to dowry

Farzana Yasmin having recently completed her masters from Eden College in Dhaka, caused waves throughout the country on November 11 by repudiating her husband right at the wedding after her in-laws demanded dowry. She told the BBC. "I have no regrets. Maybe I have not changed the lives of ten people, but I want people to take the lesson that girls can do something. "When it happened right before my eyes, something happened inside me. I felt like speaking up against it and doing something about it. Dowry has become a cancer in society. I have read in newspapers about it and have always wondered why this happens". She called upon all to take note that girls can rise against this social menace. Clouds come floating into her life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add colour to her sunset sky. Happiness is not something she has postponed for the future; it is something we can design for the present. Corruption and disrespect for women are two social evils that have been prevalent in Bangladesh for ages despite the Constitutional provisions to eliminate these evils. But the bad elements keep rearing their heads. The moral bankruptcy of people who talk big about ending domestic violence, while doing little, is more then evident. They do everything in their considerable power to decimate the ideals of democracy. Alas, the middle class, which is busy building a nation worthy of the 21st century, has a value system which is archaic or, at best, medieval. And anyone trying to question its false sense of pride and nationalism is treated with contempt. Let us learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. Let each man exercise the art he knows. There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. Gopal Sengupta Canada Email: gopalsengupta@aol.com