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Why economic abuse is a lesser-known, insidious issue of power
Updated On: 17 December, 2023 03:46 AM IST | Mumbai | Neerja Deodhar
Controlling their salaries, shrouding family investments and taking accounts of domestic stipend—economic abuse of women is a whispered terror
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Some forms of economic abuse set the stage for dowry harassment years into the marriage. Pic/Getty Images
Twenty-one days. Married at 25 to someone who she had been in love with for over seven years, a Delhi NCR-based woman was compelled to end the relationship three weeks after they tied the knot. Intrusions into and speculation about her savings and the wedding gifts received from her family began on the wedding day. At first, the groom’s sister barged into their room, inquiring about a gold chain gifted to him by his mother-in-law, and went on to make disparaging remarks about it.
Only a few days later, another sister scrutinised the money gifted—amounting to Rs 75,000—offering unsolicited advice about how the couple should open a joint bank account, and arbitrarily taking possession of the sum with the promise to “handle it”. In the coming days, as her in-laws fixated upon her LIC policies and fixed deposits—put together over her five-year career—the Delhi woman decided enough was enough. Her divorce came through two years later. Prioritising her mental health after endless and uncomfortable talk about money, she opted for no alimony.
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