GULBARGA: Chairman of the Karnataka Legal Aid Services Authority and Karnataka High Court judge K.L. Manjunath on Saturday stressed the need for concerted efforts to eradicate the practice of dowry.

Presiding over the one-day workshop organised by the Karnataka State Legal Authority, the State Women's Commission, Women and Child Welfare Department and the Gulbarga Bar Association for Dowry Prohibition Officers in Gulbarga Revenue Division, Mr. Manjunath, who is also an administrative judge of Gulbarga district, said although women were given a place of importance in society, the denial of equal rights to women dated back to the Vedic period.

He said merely enacting an Act to control the crime was not enough and provisions of the Act should be implemented in the right sense by enforcing agencies.

Mr. Manjunath said the Dowry Prohibition Act with, stiff penalties against the violators, was passed 46 years ago in 1961. But incidents of dowry deaths and harassment of women continued to be prevalent.

Following a direction from the Supreme Court, he said the State Governments framed rules for the implementation of provisions in the Act and appointed Dowry Prohibition Officers in all taluks, but implementation of the rules remained a daunting task.

Mr. Manjunath said young children should be made aware of the evils of dowry.

He said there was a need for a change in attitude of society towards women and if every individual decided to stop accepting or offering dowry, the problem could be overcome easily.

High Court judge N.K. Patil said the paradox of the situation was that although religious texts placed Indian women in a high order, society deprived her of rights and made her dependant on men. Incidents of dowry harassment against women were on the rise and it was high time that people joined hands to eradicate this social evil, he added.

In a word of advice to the implementing agencies, Mr. Patil said however strong the Act might be, if the agencies were not committed to their duty, the practice of dowry would continue.

Agricultural Marketing Minister Sharanabasappa Dharshanapur and Animal Husbandry Minister Revu Naik along with president of the Gulbarga Bar Association K.A. Kalburgi, senior advocate and member of the Karnataka State Legal Aid Services Authority Ustad Sadat Hussain spoke.

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