Over 5,000 dowry deaths in India annually

NEW DELHI,July 22: More than 5,000 dowry deaths occur every year in India, according to a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report released here today. The report states that a dozen women die each day in kitchen fires, which are designed to pass off as accidents, because their parents-in-law are dissatisfied with their dowries.Only a few of the murderers are brought to justice, adds the `Progress of Nations’ report. The 68-page report, released by Women and Child Development secretary Asha Das and Kul Gautam of UNICEF deals with global progress made in social sectors like water, sanitation, nutrition, health, education, women and juvenile justice. The report said “son preference”, particularly in Asian societies, is another insidious force directed against women. “Genetic testing for sex selection, though officially outlawed, has become a booming business in China, India and Korea,” it said.