An Indian man reaches out to touch his young bride who wears a red sari that covers her face; a woman raising her arms in terror as flames envelop her and all her belongings, a man setting off to earn his fortune abroad with a blue sack over his shoulder and a woman (his wife?) staying at home stirring a pot; an AIDS prevention advertisement within a decorative border by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.

Dowries in India began as gifts of land to a woman as her inheritance in an essentially agricultural economy but have since degenerated into gifts of gold, clothes, consumer durables and large sums of cash; this sometimes entailed the impoverishment and heavy indebtedness of poor families. The dowry is often used by the receiving families for business purposes, family member's education, or the dowry to be given for the husband's sister. The transaction of dowry often does not end with the actual wedding ceremony as the family is expected to continue to give gifts. In the course of time dowry has become a widespread evil and it has now assumed menacing proportions ... With the increasing greed for the easy inflow of money on account of a bride the chilling stories of bride burning started coming to light. (extract from http://www.helplinelaw.com )