Hyderabad, Jan 27: The All India Forgotten Women's Association (AIFWA) has demanded the Centre to withdraw the cabinet note seeking amendment in the existing provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961. The amendments are expected to be placed before the cabinet for its approval at the end of January 2010 and likely to be tabled in the Parliament in the coming budget session.

Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, Ms Uma Challa said that the amendments proposed  are: Mandatory requirement for couples to notify the list of gifts exchanged during their wedding ceremony; the list of gifts, in the form of a sworn affidavit, has to be notarized , signed by a protection officer or a dowry prohibition officer and kept by both parties; Failing to keep a list of gifts can invite heavy penalty including a three -year term in jail for not only the bribe and the groom but also their parents; the penalty for dowry givers is reduced from five years of imprisonment to one year; The Domestic violence Act will be linked with the Dowry Prohibition Act for quick relief; The definition of dowry is widened by changing the word "in connection with marriage" to given before the marriage ,at the time of marriage and at any time after the marriage. In case of a women's death, all property obtained as dowry would need to be reverted back to the parents of the women or her children.

She asked the Central government whether the filing of affidavit with a list of gifts was not a way of legalizing dowry, and how does one distinguish between dowry and gift. She said that more then 56,000 married Indian men end their lives every year, and a majority of them because of economic abuse.

According to statistics obtained from the National crime Records Bureau, every year, twice as many men, compared to women, commit suicides and the deaths these men are written off as suicides due to financial or family problems. She demanded that if the exiting DP Act of 1961 was strictly implemented and if all dowry givers and those indulging in extravagant marriages are punished , the so called "dowry problem" will vanish in on time. However, this will never happen due to the many disincentives it would create in the global domestic industry, the most important one being that the flow of international funding for eliminating dowry will cease. She alleged that not only that, the Rs 50,000 crore market of 'big fat weddings' will come to an abrupt end and hurt corporate entities and businesses, which in turn will affect politicians who control and are controlled by them.

In the event that the proposed amendments to the DP Act are passed, she urged that all men intending to get married should urge them to insist on prenuptial agreements to protect themselves from false cases when a marriage turns sour or breaks down.