Marriage, Dowry And Silence: The Death of Twisha Sharma

The death of 33-year-old Twisha Sharma in Bhopal has once again brought attention to the deeply entrenched realities of dowry harassment, domestic abuse, and the limited agency many women continue to experience within marriage, even in the 26th year of the 21st century. While her husband and in-laws have denied any wrongdoing, Twisha’s family has alleged that she faced sustained physical and mental abuse in her marital home.

According to her parents and siblings, Twisha faced dowry-related harassment and was pressured to transfer shares and investments worth Rs 20 lakh — gifted to her by her father — to her husband and in-laws. She was even asked to prove that the child she was carrying — she was reportedly two months pregnant — belonged to her husband.

Her family has also claimed that Twisha lost nearly 15 kilograms since her marriage in December 2025, a detail that raises troubling questions about the conditions in which she was living. Whether through physical violence, emotional trauma, stress, neglect, or coercive control, such drastic weight loss in a matter of months points toward deep distress. Her death, now under investigation, is not merely a personal tragedy. It is a reflection of a wider social reality that continues to trap women inside abusive marriages with little support, little autonomy, and often, very little hope.

Dowry Harassment Beyond Tradition

Dowry is officially illegal in India, yet the practice remains embedded in the social fabric across regions, religions, and economic classes. In many households, dowry no longer appears only in the form of overt demands made before marriage. It often takes subtler but equally coercive forms — expectations of gifts, cash transfers, expensive items, property, vehicles, or continuous financial support from the woman’s family after marriage.

In cases like Twisha’s, as alleged by her family, dowry harassment becomes intertwined with emotional and psychological abuse. Women are made to feel inadequate if their families cannot satisfy demands. They are insulted, taunted, isolated, or blamed for bringing “too little” into the marriage. Over time, these pressures create an atmosphere of fear and humiliation where a woman’s self-worth is systematically broken down.

The allegations that Twisha was asked to prove the paternity of her unborn child reveal another disturbing layer of patriarchal control. Such accusations are not ordinary marital disputes; they are acts of psychological violence intended to shame and intimidate. For a pregnant woman, these allegations can be emotionally devastating. They attack not just her character but also her bodily autonomy and dignity.

What is particularly alarming is that these incidents continue to occur in modern, educated, urban settings. India today speaks the language of technological progress, women’s empowerment, and economic development, yet countless women still enter marriages where they are treated less as equal partners and more as individuals expected to conform, obey, and endure.

Marriage, for many women, continues to involve a dramatic loss of agency. Decisions about finances, employment, friendships, mobility, reproduction, and even communication with their own families may come under surveillance or control within marital homes. Women are expected to “adjust” endlessly, regardless of the emotional or physical cost.

A Crisis That Is Neither Rare Nor Isolated

Twisha Sharma’s death is not an isolated case. Reports of women dying under suspicious circumstances within a few years of marriage appear with disturbing regularity across the country. Some cases are categorised as suicides, others as accidents, and many remain trapped in prolonged legal battles where truth becomes difficult to establish. Behind these headlines are recurring themes — dowry demands, domestic violence, emotional abuse, coercion, and social pressure.

What makes these cases especially difficult is that abuse inside homes often remains invisible until it is too late. Mental abuse, in particular, rarely leaves visible scars. Constant humiliation, character assassination, threats, manipulation, isolation, and emotional intimidation can gradually destroy a person’s mental health. Women may continue smiling in public while enduring unbearable conditions in private.

Social conditioning also plays a major role in trapping women in abusive marriages. From childhood, many women are taught that preserving marriage is their responsibility, no matter how painful the circumstances become. Families often encourage daughters to compromise rather than confront abuse, fearing social stigma or the collapse of the marriage. Divorce is still viewed by many as a greater shame than violence itself.

As a result, women frequently remain silent. Some fear they will not be believed. Others worry about financial dependence, social judgement, or losing custody of children. Even highly educated and financially independent women can find themselves emotionally cornered within controlling marriages.

Cases like Twisha’s expose how deeply patriarchal attitudes continue to shape marital relationships. The expectation that a woman must continuously prove her loyalty, sacrifice her comfort, tolerate abuse, and preserve family honour at all costs remains widespread. The burden of maintaining peace within the household almost always falls disproportionately on women.

The tragedy is compounded by the fact that society has, in many ways, become desensitised to such stories. Every few weeks, another case emerges involving allegations of dowry harassment or domestic cruelty. Public outrage flares briefly before attention shifts elsewhere. Yet the frequency of these incidents makes it impossible to dismiss them as isolated exceptions.

The reality is that many women in India still do not enjoy full autonomy within marriage. Legal protections exist, but implementation remains inconsistent, and social attitudes continue to undermine women’s rights. Until domestic abuse is recognised not as a private family issue but as a serious social crisis, and until women are given genuine support systems and independence, such tragedies will continue to recur.

Twisha Sharma’s death should therefore serve not only as a case for investigation, but also as a reminder that countless women continue to suffer silently inside homes that society insists on calling safe spaces.