'Angry Brides' take on dowry culture

By: Aseem Gaurav on January 18, 2012

These are Indian brides that you don't want to mess with. A new online game called "Angry Brides", promoted by online matchmaker shaadi.com, takes a shot at the dowry practice in form of players hurling various objects towards dowry seeking grooms. 

The game is obviously inspired by wildly popular game Angry Birds, in which players hurl avians to free their captive friends.  Angry Brides adds a new spin to it in form of women pelting weapon, from a brick-red stiletto, slipper, saucepan, to a broomstick, at dodging grooms – an engineer, a doctor and a pilot. These grooms are demanding dowry starting at Rs 1.5 million ($30,000). If you hit it right then you'll lower the amount grooms are seeking and the amount will be added in your anti-dowry fund. 

The game has already attracted more than 270,000 fans which is an apt indication of peoples' anger towards this practice. Although paying and accepting a dowry has been illegal since 1961, the centuries-old tradition of the bride parents to present gift to cash, clothes to the groom's family is still strong.

Shaadi.com in a statement said, "We believe that marriage is an institution of love, where there is a place for togetherness, family values and emotional support but not for dowry!" it said in a statement. It said as a brand responsible for matchmaking, it wanted to create awareness about the issue of dowry.

According to India's National Crime Records Bureau in 2010, 8,391 women died in dowry-related deaths, and 44 per cent of all crimes against women in the country were carried out by their husbands and relatives.

"A woman will give you strength, care and all the love you need ... NOT dowry!" the front page of game reads.

Athough the game has already generated a lot of interest among users, it will be interesting to see how things will pan out in the coming days.