Disabling a Bride: A Socio-Cultural and Psychosexual
Critique of Patriarchal Power behind the Dowry Death of Rithanya
Anto Hemanth A,
Junior Research Fellow,
Department of English,
PSG College of Arts & Science,
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
&
Dr. Saranya VM,
Assistant Professor,
Department of English,
PSG College of Arts & Science,
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Abstract: What disables an
individual need not always be visible, such as physical or mental impairments.
There are different forms of disability that are often invisible and rooted in
social structures, operating through power. These power structures result in
control, oppression, and the subordination of individuals. Employing Mike
Oliver’s critical framework of the social model of disability, this research
article investigates the dowry death case of Rithanya, a twenty-seven-year-old
newly married woman who tragically died by suicide. It aims to shed light on
how socio-cultural beliefs, rituals, rites, practices and norms associated with
Indian marriages favour, uphold and reinforce patriarchal power, through which
a married woman becomes socially disabled, feeling powerless. Moreover, this
article explores how the practice of sadomasochism, which, in relation to
patriarchy within psychosexual dynamics, contributes further to the social
disablement of women.
Keywords: Patriarchy, Marriage, Dowry, Sadomasochism, Disability,
Social Disability.
Introduction
To be seen is to be known; to be known is to be understood; to be understood is to be questioned and validated as true. Everything that is visible becomes evident knowledge; through knowledge, grows essential understanding, and further through questioning and validation, ultimately emerges the truth, which is the reality. However, certain things are made invisible innately as well as intentionally, often silenced, ignored and hidden through structural power and oppression.
Anything that limits human potential
or ability can be referred to as disability. The term disability is often
employed to refer to visible physical as well as mental impairments that
distinguish those perceived as healthy or normal from those who are not
perceived so. Visibility, within the conceptual framework of disability, has
played a significant role in identifying, learning, understanding, and
recognizing the disabled and their disabilities. The recognition has paved the
way for raising social awareness, formulating legal policies and laws to create
and foster an inclusive society.
Besides the recognized disabilities,
particularly characterized by visibility, there are different forms of
disabilities that are often invisible, ignored and hidden. Such invisible forms
arise due to conditions or situations in which individuals feel powerless,
ignored, voiceless, and isolated, not as a result of physical or mental impairments,
but through structural and systematic power and oppression.
Characterized by richness and
diversity in every aspect, particularly religious and cultural, Indian society
is rooted in a plethora of beliefs, norms, rituals, rites and practices. However,
some of these share inherently common motives or purposes that are often rooted
in patriarchy, preserving, transmitting and reinforcing discriminatory and
oppressive tendencies against women.
It is significant to understand that
no particular culture or religion directly cultivates or promotes patriarchy;
however, patriarchy in Indian society operates through the interplay of
cultural and religious factors. Indian society, in the cultural context,
encompasses several ceremonies, rituals, and practices on account of diversely
unique auspicious events and occasions. These ceremonies, rituals, and
practices are built on traditionally inherent ideas and beliefs. Marriage, in
particular, is considered the most auspicious and celebrated event in India, regardless
of cultural and religious backgrounds.
The concept of Indian marriages
contrasts with that of Western marriages and can be seen as a different
phenomenon, as it serves beyond the universal marital purpose of establishing
families. Widely known as “Big Fat Wedding Indian Weddings” (Pande 2024; Thomas
2024), Indian weddings are materialistic, showcasing family wealth, status and
pride (Dhillon 2023). It has emerged as an industry valued at 130 billion in US
dollars, only after food and grocery (Gupta 2024).
Marriages in India are twofold:
arranged and love marriages. Arranged marriages involve families taking over
the role of selecting suitable partners for their sons or daughters,
considering social, religious, cultural and financial backgrounds and values.
On the other hand, love marriages involve individuals choosing their partners
on their own, through dating and pre-marital relationships. Love marriages take
place with or without familial approval or support. At the present, arranged
marriages are still comparatively prevalent in Indian society, despite the
incorporation of Western ideas and values.
In relation to the materialistic
nature of weddings and the predominance of arranged marriage culture in the
Indian society, it is fair to argue that Indian weddings favour, preserve, and
uphold patriarchy both visibly and invisibly, establishing systematic power
over women, subsequently, making them feel oppressed, powerless and disabled.
This research article focuses on the
dowry death case of Rithanya, a newly married woman from Tamil Nadu who died by
committing suicide as a result of domestic abuse and sexual harassment. Through
the framework of the social model of disability, this article aims to
critically examine the circumstantial factors that have led to Rithanya’s
tragic death and discusses how the concept of Indian marriages, through its
patriarchally driven rites, rituals and practices, disables women in multiple
dimensions.
The Dowry Death Case of Rithanya
A tragic incident that came to light
and spread like wildfire across the nation is the suicide of Rithanya, a
27-year-old newlywed from the Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu. Her testimony
before death, in the form of several WhatsApp voice messages to her father,
revealed the dark and brutally unbearable tortures inflicted on her by her
in-laws and her husband, Kavin Kumar. The entire case has been revealed as a
dowry death, following brutal domestic physical abuse and sexual harassment (OneIndia2025).
In a traditional arranged marriage
set-up and following a grand ceremony, Rithanya was married to Kavin Kumar on
9th April 2025. Adhering to the patriarchally rooted dowry system, Rithanya’s
parents provided Kavin’s family with “300 sovereigns, along with a Volvo car
worth ₹70 lakh (INR) and a lavish wedding costing ₹2.5 crore (INR)” (Sridhar
2025). Her parents also had promised to provide an additional 200 sovereigns,
making it a total of 500 sovereigns (2025).
However, only 78 days into her
marriage, Rithanya took her own life on June 29, 2025, by consuming pesticide.
Following her tragic suicide, her father, Annadurai, revealed that Rithanya had
sent him seven WhatsApp voice messages before her death, stating that her
husband, Kavin, and her in-laws as solely responsible for her tragic decision
(Madhav 2025; Fathima 2025). It is recorded:
My married life is the sole reason for
this decision. My husband and his family are to be blamed. I’ve gone through
enough physical and mental harassment. I don’t want this life anymore; they
will never change. . .My marriage has been a failure. Please forgive me, Mum
and Dad. (Suruchi 2025)
Upon further investigation, it is
brought to light that Rithanya had been subjected to physical and emotional
abuse by her husband and in-laws, demanding the remaining promised dowry of 200
sovereigns, to be provided immediately. Her in-laws punished and humiliated her
for trivial reasons, even forcing her to stand for hours (Shukla 2025;
Bannerjee 2025).
Further adding to her sufferings, her
husband, Kavin, sexually assaulted her sadistically, leaving her in physical
pain and scars (“Psycho who tied her up” 2025). Under torture and manipulation
from her husband and in-laws and intense pressure from her own parents to make
the marriage work by adjusting to the new family (Shukla 2025; Madhav 2025),
Rithanya had become physically, psychologically, and emotionally shattered.
Having lost all hope, she had ended her life.
Patriarchal Power and Disability: A Socio-cultural
Critique
In light of Rithanya’s case of dowry
death, there are significant cultural factors deep-rooted in patriarchy, which
can be considered to have disabled Rithanya in physical and mental dimensions,
and ultimately, the social dimension. This includes the interplay of factors
such as marital rituals, norms and practices, and the power transferred or
granted to the groom and his family through these factors. Discussing the
interplay of these factors within the social model of disability would provide
a critical understanding of the case.
Coined and conceptualized by the
English sociologist Mike Oliver in 1983, the ‘social model of disability’
frames disability as a construct as a result of social barriers, rather than
biologically and physiologically driven impairments. Oliver’s social model
refers to disabilities “caused by social situations” (2023) that result in
restrictions, discrimination and oppression. For instance, racism inherent in
the American society can be seen as a form of social disability inflicted on
African Afro-Americans, resulting in discrimination and oppression.
Parallel to racism, which refers to
the discrimination against Black people in American society, is the gendered
discrimination of patriarchy in Indian society, which is characterized by the
dominance of men over women in multiple aspects. Within the concept of Indian
marriages, the factors which include beliefs, norms, rituals, rites, and
practices highlight the inherent patriarchy in Indian society. Out of these
factors, some may differ in terms of religion. However, there are practices
common to every religion that are driven by patriarchy.
Within the religion of Hinduism, one
of the prominent rituals that is often debated to reinforce patriarchal norms
is ‘Kanyadaan’, which literally means giving away, gifting, donating or
transferring the virgin bride (Saxena 2024; Misra 2020; “The Kanyadaan
Conundrum” 2014). Regarded as a significant marital rite, Kanyadhaan is
performed to signify that the bride or the just-married woman is being given
away or transferred to the groom’s family following the marriage, implying that
the woman or the new bride is no longer her father’s responsibility, but the
groom’s and his family’s (omghitched.com 2025). This very rite is often
subjected to several criticisms as it resonates with patriarchal objectification,
reducing the daughter or woman to a commodity, or a possession being
transferred from her parents to the groom’s.
This traditional practice became a
central subject of debate and criticism in 2021 following a controversial
Manyavar advertisement featuring the Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt. This ad,
which runs for less than a minute and a half, portrays Alia as a bride
questioning why she has always been treated as a temporary member of her
family, and whether she is merely an object to be donated or given away. In
response, the characters playing her in-laws gesture in a wholesome manner,
implying that they are also giving away their son (Mohey Manyavar Ad 2021).
Although this ad promotes the idea of gender equality, reimagining the
religious and cultural practice of Kanya Daan, many people found it hurtful to
their religious and cultural sentiments (Bhattacharjee 2021).
The practice of dowry, which is
inherent in the Indian society, regardless of culture and religion, continues
to be upheld, despite being declared illegal and a punishable crime according
to The Dowry Prohibition Act, enacted in 1961 (Legal Journey 2023). Often
ignored or denied as something that does not exist anymore, dowry is typically
discussed, negotiated, and decided privately within the families of the bride
and groom, ensuring that it remains hidden from the public. According to recent
data available, nearly 6,500 dowry deaths were reported in India in 2022. It
can be said that Rithanya's case is one of the thousands of dowry death cases
reported annually in India.
Patriarchal Power and Disability: A Psychosexual Critique
Besides these socio-cultural factors
and practices, it is crucial to shed light on the state of sexuality of a
married woman in relation to what is reported as ‘sexual torture’ in Rithanya’s
case. It is reported that Kavin abused Rithanya through violent and painful
sexual acts (“Psycho who tied her up” 2025). This type of sexual act in which
an individual achieves sexual excitement or pleasure, instilling physical as
well as psychological pain and humiliating his partner, is known as
‘sadomasochism’, which combines sadism and masochism (Weinberg et al., 379;
Eldridge 2024).
The practice of sadomasochism can be
discussed in light of psychosexual power dynamics. One of the notable American
Anthropologists, Paul Gebhard, states that Sadomasochism takes place within a
particular cultural context, as culture, in his view, is what “operates on the
basis of dominance-submission relationships” (1969) and is framed by “gendered
relations” (1969). Michel Foucault, the highly acclaimed and controversial
French critic, provides comprehensive insights into sadomasochism.
Foucault views sadomasochism in a
sexual act as a strategic game primarily rooted in power, rather than pleasure
(Lammers and Imhoff 2015). According to Foucault, one’s sexuality is
constructed by power, implying that it is power that operates together with
pleasure (“Sexuality as a Construct (Foucault)” 2016). The sadomasochism is a
strategic game where one individual establishes power over the other, through
violence, pain and control over the body, to achieve erotic pleasure. In
Rithanya’s case, Kavin, through his sadomasochistic behaviours, had established
control over Rithanya’s body, repressing her sexuality through violence,
causing great physical and psychological pain and suffering, making her feel
powerless in psychosexual aspects.
The practice of sadomasochism, when
framed by gendered relations, can be considered patriarchal as it aligns with
the patriarchal structures and ideologies of dominance and subordination in
psychosexual dynamics. Patriarchy within psychosexual dynamics is often
intimate and personal, and does not directly disable women in the social
dimension. However, the personal experiences of individuals influence their
social behaviours, shaping their self-esteem, self-respect, confidence,
attitude and other aspects of their identity. Therefore, patriarchy within
psychosexual dynamics disables women socially, through the link between personal
experiences and social behaviours.
Conclusion
In light of the study centered on
Rithanya's case of dowry death, it is fair to state that the concept of Indian
marriages through its beliefs, norms, rituals, rites and practices such as
dowry, which prioritise and favour the groom and groom's family, plays a
significant role in upholding patriarchy in Indian society.
The patriarchy that is upheld in
Indian society, owing to the concept of marriage, disables women socially,
making them feel powerless. Further, patriarchy within psychosexual aspects,
which represses and controls women's sexuality and bodies respectively, further
contributes to the social disablement of women.
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