Abstract
This paper begins with explaining the complexities of the dowry system in itself, as well as the exact process of it. Thereafter, some real examples of dowry system marriage products with horrible results are discussed. The problems with this practice are then clearly stated. Lastly, the approach that must be taken to ever begin abolishing this system are touched upon.

From the Paper
"Growing up children in the United States have always been taught when they get old enough they will meet that special person, fall in love, and get married. However, what they are not taught is that all of the other societies in this world are not like us. There are some societies that believe marriage should not be based on love. They instead believe it should be based on economical and or status gain. In the country of India there are marriages that occur based on love, but they are far from the norm. The marriages that mostly occur in India are based on something called the dowry system."

Tags:dowry, india, marriage, system, women

Abstract
This paper discusses how amongst all of the works of Russian literature the one that exhibits the most male dominance over women is "A Girl Without a Dowry" by Ostrovosky. The paper looks at how this fairly short play conveys a multitude of different methods by which women's worth is undermined in a male dominated world. The paper also examines how Ostrovosky depicts a social system where men not only control women's lives, but also a world where a female needs a male to survive and how, through the use of character dynamics, the play conjectures the opinion that male authority is an essential part of life that cannot be abolished. The paper looks at how "A Girl Without a Dowry" exhibits ideas of oppression against women through the frame of male misogyny, which is most strongly conveyed through the character of Paratov, who is rendered as the prototypical alpha-male.

From the Paper
"Paratov's character is arguably the most dynamic male character in the play, in the sense that he fits in anywhere and gets along with everyone. However, many of the characteristics that establish Paratov as this well-rounded man are also values that make him the most misogynistic character in the play. One particular thing to focus on would be Paratov's style. A majority of the male characters in the play are seen in generally the same coat or the same suit, with not much variation in how they look from day to day. Unlike these characters Paratov wears a variety of outfits that are in different colors than traditional outfits. A specific outfit that stands out from the rest is his white suit with a matching white hat and overcoat, which he wears near the beginning. "

Tags:Paratov, oppression, women

Abstract
A look at marriage in different societies. The author examines marriage in societies where transfer of resources is a requirement for the ceremony. The author compares the operations, significance and implications of dowry and bride-wealth in different cultures.

From the Paper
"All animals, including humans, mate: some for life and some not; some with a single individual of the opposite sex and some with several. Only marriage, however, is sanctioned by legal, economic, and social forces. Anthropologists have tried to identify the common elements in different types of marriage to find the features that are essential or otherwise. They have also focused on the different forms of marriage and the elements involved, sexual, legal, economic and political and the futility of searching for a universal definition. In many tribal societies, marriage involves contracts or alliances between different descent groups, and is not a relationship between individuals. It is a transfer or flow of rights."

Tags:culture, tradition, religion

Abstract
The paper looks at the play "Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection" that reveals the marriage customs in India two thousand years ago. The paper then examines the play "Medea" and explains what marriage constituted in ancient Greece and what was considered acceptable behavior on the part of women. The paper highlights the similarities in the ways that marriage is presented in both plays; in both societies young, virgin brides are prized, the families of the bride would provide her with a dowry and it was common in both cultures for arranged marriages to occur.

From the Paper
"According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, marriage is defined as "the formal union of a man and a woman, typically as recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife." From this rather brief description one can get a basic idea of what marriage is in today's world, but what was marriage in ancient times? In the stories, Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection, and Medea marriage plays an important theme, but how does this idea vary in the way it is presented ion the two works? By analyzing these two stories, and the culture, customs and history of the time period and geographical region in which the tales were created, a reader can learn a great deal about an author's intentions. If we can understand the customs, practices, and even religions of ancient societies we can come to understand the reasons that some societies survived until the modern day, and why some other civilizations were destined, from the beginning, to perish."

Tags:women, brides, virginity, castes, dowry, weddings

Abstract
The paper looks at the obstacles and opportunities confronting the effort to end violence against women in Brazil and India. The paper begins with a study of Brazil and shwos how the rampant alcoholism found in Brazilian society, coupled with economic problems, is a challenge that is as real today as it was 20, 30, or 40 years ago. Moreover, the paper reveals that there is a high tolerance for domestic violence in Brazil. However, the paper also discusses how there are plenty of opportunities for things to change: women-only police stations abound and Christian outreach programs suggest brighter times ahead. The paper then examines India and its ugly spectre (and effect) of the caste system, the pervasive evils of alcoholism amongst the lower orders and the curious cultural mindset that seems to harbour an antipathy towards well-educated women. Finally, female attitudes towards violence, a cultural reluctance to shield women from violence, and the iniquities of the dowry are discussed as challenges - but also as things which present opportunities, too. In the end, the paper shows how Brazil and India do not have to perpetually endure violence against women - but they do need to make many changes.

From the Paper
"The following paper will look at the obstacles and opportunities confronting the effort to end violence against women in Brazil and India. Inasmuch as these two countries are certainly not identical and have distinctive cultures all their own, they warrant being discussed separately. In any event, Brazil will be examined first. To start with, the rampant alcoholism found in Brazilian society, coupled with economic problems, is a challenge that is as real today as it was 20, 30, or 40 years ago. Moreover, there is - as there has always been - a high..."

Tags:combating, violence, women

Abstract
This paper explains that the position of women in Hindu society has changed considerably in modern times with the advent of modernity and technology, however she is still not on par with her contemporaries in the west. It argues that modern laws have mitigated the tightly restricted position women occupied in Indian society to some extent, however there is still much that needs to be done to raise the status of women in Hinduism.

Outline
Introduction
Traditional Concepts of Women in Hinduism
Status of Modern Woman in Hindu Society
The Dowry System
The Sati System
Female Foeticide
Hinduism vs. Modern Status of Women
Conclusion

From the Paper
" The status of women in Hinduism is much different from that of women all over the world. While Hindu women are also subject to the gender inequality that exists all over the world, it may be noted that religious restrictions and dictates mandate additional limitations upon the Hindu woman. Traditionally, her status has always been one of inferiority to man, but the underlying contempt that leads to this treatment of her as inferior is belied by the religious deception of her portrayal as a supremely moral being, as strong and as pure as a goddess. It may therefore be observed that Hinduism imposes upon Hindu women a religious standard of morality and purity that is almost impossible for a real woman to attain. It requires a level of self sacrifice and piety that is paradoxically denied to her by virtue of her "uncleanliness" caused by menstruation. Therefore, while Hinduism calls out to women to maintain the status of purity and morality that will ensure the attainment of a religious standard to serve in religious institutions, it also ensures that this standard will never be achieved - because she is ostracized from the religious shrines when she is menstruating. The highest ideal for Hindu women is the attainment of religious zeniths of purity. Everything in a Hindu woman's life is conditioned around religion and Hinduism is the source of all the cultural and societal values that are imposed upon the woman."

Tags:hinduism, india, west, east

Abstract
This compares domestic violence in the U.S. with the Middle East. Of concern are, dowry deaths, ritualized abuse, and socially and religiously approved or sanctioned violence.

Abstract
This paper examines how as the world's largest democratic society, India, stands poised to join the international community as a preeminent member in the 21st century. In particular, it looks at how, against this modern backdrop, research shows that many women in India continue to be murdered over wealth because their husbands or in-laws are unsatisfied with the size of the dowry that accompanied them into the marriage. It provides a comprehensive examination of the factors contributing to the incidence of bride-burning in India today, including statistical data provided in a table.

From the Paper
"However, the current problems associated with bride-burning in India might well be related to this ancient practice and the mind-set that is helped to create when it came to women in India today. For instance, when a married man died in some parts of ancient India, his wife was expected to share his cremation pyre. When this was done, she was highly regarded within the community as being sati (virtuous one). "The earliest reference to Sati appears in 314 BC in the writings of Greek scholar Diodorus Siculus. It may be inferred that initially, Sati was a voluntary act, committed by a wife driven by emotional distress over her husband's death, or by an ancient belief in accompanying the husband to the next world" (Thaker 2000:2). Over time, the practice became culturally acceptable and peer pressure helped to maintain the practice; however, even during these ancient times, not everyone was happy about the practice of Sati (Thaker 2000)."

Tags:caste, deathsdowry, hindu, marriages, prohibition

Abstract
This essay examines how writing emerged as means towards emancipation for forcefully cloistered nuns in the late renaissance period. It begins with a re-examination of the renaissance, the corresponding rise of paternalism, and the reaction to it made by "male feminists" such as Erasmus, Garzoni and Agrippa. It goes on to examine proto-feminist works by the likes of Lucrezia Marinella and Moderate Fonte. Following this, a background is provided of the custom of forcefully cloistering daughters whose dowries their fathers were not able to pay, specifically in the context of Venetian society. The paternalistic corruptions of this society are outlined, with emphasis of the greed of fathers who appropriated the inheritances of their daughters, and how church and society were accomplices in this task. This is followed by a detailed exposition of Archangela Tarabotti's writings, preceding by a background to her forceful cloistering. It is shown how Tarabotti, through her writings, accepted male privilege, but only spoke out against the abuses of it, and how church and society were implicit in this abuse. Tarabotti's approach is then contrasted with the letters of Maria Celeste Galilei to her father, in which she uses writing as a means of self-expression when it was denied her in other ways.

Outline:
Introduction
The Renaissance Re-examined
Proto-Feminist Works
The Corruption of Venetian Society
The Appropriation of Female Inheritance
Archangela Tarabotti
Background and Works of Tarabotti
Insights into Fundamental Corruption
The Benign Approach of Maria Celeste Galilei
Conclusion

From the Paper
"It is customary to view feminism in terms of political activism, and therefore historians of the movement struggle to find exemplars before the 20th century. However, political activism is only one aspect of feminism, and it should not be conflated with the whole. Another aspect is related to the expression of the female voice. This is where women seek novel avenues of expression in the event that her natural means of expression are denied her. We do in fact notice this form of feminism arising from the time of the renaissance, and the voices heard in this period deserve to be studied in the context of the prevailing repression. One form of repression was the forceful cloistering of unmarriageable daughters in Italy in the late renaissance period. The extant writings of these forcefully cloistered nuns provide a remarkable example of feminine expression as overcoming the severest of barriers. They thus project a spirit of emancipation as well as describe the evasion of paternalistic restrictions."

Tags:Paternalism, emancipation, evasion, forceful, cloistering, Tarabotti

Abstract
This paper will discuss the cultural factors that precipitate domestic violence against Asian Indian women in the United States. After offering the thesis that deeply-rooted cultural factors (notions of women as inferior beings who must "know their place" and equally anachronistic ideas that, because women come attached with dowries, they are beings that can be treated as possessions) lie at the heart of domestic violence wreaked upon South Asian women by their spouses, the paper will turn to discuss the pertinent scholarly literature.

From the Paper
Domestic Violence against Asian Indian Immigrant Women in the United States Introduction This paper will discuss the cultural factors that precipitate domestic violence against Asian Indian women in the United States. After offering the thesis that deeply-rooted cultural factors (notions of women as inferior beings who must "know their place" and equally anachronistic ideas that, because women come attached with dowries, they are beings that can be treated as possessions) lie at the heart of domestic violence wreaked upon South Asian women by their spouses, the paper will turn to

Tags:south, asian, immigrant