India, Oct. 29 -- A daughter is not born to be priced, a marriage is not a commercial transaction, and a family's dignity cannot be measured by the gifts it gives or the demands it fulfils. Yet, even today, dowry continues to disguise itself as tradition, affection, social status or a customary exchange of gifts.

Behind these seemingly respectable labels often lies a deeply entrenched system of entitlement, in which a woman and her family are made to feel that her acceptance into a marital home must be purchased. As a woman and as a Senior Advocate, I find it particularly disturbing that a practice prohibited by law continues to survive in social spaces that otherwise pride themselves on education, modernity and progress.

The Dowry Proh...