es. Open a newspaper and there are always ARTICLES regarding dowry deaths. Women (many) are not educated. This is due to a few reasons. First parents are saving money for their dowry, second the daughter ends up leaving and any investment the parents have made in her are now benefits of the in laws. THIRD many in laws are greedy and constantly harass the woman to get more money from her parents. Fourth, most of the time the girl sees none of the money. Instead the in laws and GROOM use it for such items as cars, gold etc. Fifth, it causes problems many times in the NRI marriages. Men with jobs in developed countries, come to India, receive huge dowries then leave their Indian WIVES behind. The worst problem is many families don't want girl children, because they will have to pay dowries. This LEADS to selective sex abortions. They may be illegal, but so are dowries. This isn't just a village issue. It happens in the cities, villages, the rich and poor, the educated and not. Getting rid of dowries would be a huge step in making the “"Save the Girl Child” iniative come true. As I type this the number of men outnumber the number of females in India. Dowries are one of the major factors.