The arrest of a mother-in-law in India has laid bare the brutal economics of marriage and the price of a woman's life. Savita Devi was taken into custody on Tuesday after the death of her daughter-in-law, Kiran. Kiran's family allege that she was tortured for a dowry of a motorbike and cash. She was found hanging in her marital home in Uttar Pradesh.
Kiran, 23, married Pradeep Kumar three years ago. Her family say the demands began within months: a motorbike, gold, 500,000 rupees. They paid some, but never enough. The night she died, her in-laws had called to say she had 'misbehaved'. By morning, she was gone.
This is not an isolated horror. In India, a woman is killed over dowry disputes every hour. For many families, a daughter is a liability. The wedding is a transaction. And when the books don't balance, the debt is paid in blood.
The case has ignited a media storm because of a detail. Savita Devi was photographed smiling at the police station. The image went viral. For the public, that smile is a confession.
But the real scandal is not a smile. It is the 20,000 rupees that Kiran's family was offered by the state as compensation. About 200 pounds. That is the cost of a daughter in today's India.
The labour of women like Kiran is invisible. They cook, clean, bear children. Their work sustains households but is never valued. Until a price is put on her head. Then she becomes a debt.
Police say they are investigating. The husband is missing. Rights groups say the law is not enough. They want the culture of dowry stamped out. But culture is slow to change when it is backed by money.
A motorbike. Some jewellery. Cash. That was the bounty on Kiran's life. And in the end, she paid for it with her last breath.
