H-ASIA
                             May 18, 1996

TOC: Journal of South Asia Women Studies, Vol. 2 no.2 (May 16, 1996) ISSN 1085-7478

From: garzilli@HULAW1.HARVARD.EDU

We are pleased to announce that the: 

               JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIA WOMEN STUDIES
          VOL. 2, NO. 2 (MAY 15, 1996) -- ISSN 1085-7478
             (C) 1996 JSAWS. All rights reserved.

                http://www.shore.net/~india/jsaws/
                     jsaws-request@shore.net

has just been distributed by email to our Members.

It is now available on our ftp server:
ftp://ftp.shore.net/members/india/jsaws/issues/

In a few days it will be published on our WWW pages: http://www.shore.net/~india/jsaws/

CONTENTS: 

              SATI WAS NOT ENFORCED IN ANCIENT NEPAL
                                 by
                            Jayaraj Acharya

Abstract

Sati, the ancient custom in the Hindu religion of a wife being burnt with her dead husband, does not seem to have been enforced in ancient Nepal, i.e. during the rule of the Licchavi dynasty (c. A.D. 300-879). In this paper, the about 190 stone inscriptions from this period are considered. The only Licchavi inscription which has a reference to the sati system is the inscription of Manadeva I at the Changu Narayana temple in the north-eastern corner of the Kathmandu valley (A.D. 464). This inscription does not refer to the commitment of sati but abstention from it. Moreover, out of the total 190, there are 18 stone inscriptions that were installed exclusively by widows during the Licchavi period. Of the 18 inscriptions of widows, only 3 were by members of the royal family. These are some instances that evidently indicate the abstention from sati, but there is not a single evidence in any of the 190 inscriptions from the Licchavi period Nepal that says that someone did it. 

                      THE DAUGHTERS AND HINDU RITES
                                    by
                               Bandita Phukan

Abstract

This the account of Ms. Bandita Phukan. She is the first woman mechanical engineer in the State of Assam. When her father died in 1993, the relatives tried to find a son of a cousin to do the last rites (Shraddha), because her father did not have a son. Bandita revolted, and asked the priest to permit her to do the last rites. At the beginning, the priest refused. Last rites of a dead person can be performed only by a male member of the family, and never by a daughter. Bandita did not give up. At her insistence, one Brahmin priest came forward and allowed her to perform the last rites of her father.
If married Hindu daughters could be allowed to perform the Shraddha cerimonies, concludes Phukan, their surviving parents would be happy to have a dear daughter as eligible as their dear son.

PRACTICAL STEPS TOWARDS SAVING THE LIVES OF 25,000 POTENTIAL VICTIMS 

      OF DOWRY AND BRIDE-BURNING IN INDIA IN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS
                                    by
                             Himendra B. Thakur

This paper offers an analysis of one of the remedies that could be suggested to oppose dowry: young women should refuse to marry as soon as the groom's family asks for dowry. It gives statistics and examines: 1) the cases of dowry-deaths in India; 2) the geographical distribution of concentration of dowry-deaths per million Hindu popolation. In the last part of the paper, Thakur outlines three immediate and a long-term solutions given women who refuse to marry because of dowry demand.

Enjoy the reading!

Dr. Enrica Garzilli
Harvard Law School
Editor-in-Chief, IJTS and JSAWS (http://www.shore.net/~india/) Managing Editor, EJVS (http://www.shore.net/~india/~india/)