反嫁妝陋習游戲“憤怒的新娘”網絡走紅

2012-01-17 15:10

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Screen grab from "Angry Brides" game.

Anger at the practice of demanding dowries, which can lead to violence against brides, has prompted a takeoff of "Angry Birds" called "Angry Brides" that aims to highlight the illegal practice still prevalent in many South Asian countries.

Dowries -- such as jewelry, clothes, cars and money -- are traditionally given by the bride's family to the groom and his parents to ensure she is taken care of in her new home.

The custom was outlawed more than five decades ago. But it is still widely practiced, with the groom's family demanding even more money after marriage, leading to mental and physical harassment that can drive the woman to suicide.

In the worst cases, she may be murdered by her husband and his family, often in so-called "stove burnings" where she is doused in kerosene and set on fire.

"The Angry Brides game is our way of throwing a spotlight on the nuisance of dowry," said Ram Bhamidi, senior vice president and head of online marketing for Shaadi.com, a matrimonial website with two million members.

"According to a 2007 study ... there is a dowry-related death every four hours in India. We condemn this menace and have consistently run campaigns on social media to help create awareness of the issue."

The name of the app, available on the group's home page (www.facebook.com/shaadicom), is a spinoff from the globally popular "Angry Birds" game. Its home page shows a red-clad, eight-armed woman resembling a powerful female Hindu goddess.

Underneath, there is a caption: "A woman will give you strength, care and all the love you need ... NOT dowry!"

To play the game, users have to try and hit three dodging grooms -- a pilot, builder and doctor. There is a wide array of weapons to choose from, including a stiletto shoe, a frying pan, broomstick, tomato and loafer.

Each groom has a price tag, starting at 1.5 million rupees ($29,165). Every time the player hits a groom, his value decreases and money is added to the player's Anti-Dowry Fund, which is saved posted on their Facebook page.

"Since we launched the game last week, more than 270,000 people have liked the app. Both men and women seem to be playing it," said Bhamidi.

According to latest figures from India's National Crime Records Bureau, there were 8,391 cases of dowry-related deaths in the country and 90,000 cases of torture and cruelty toward women by their husbands or family in 2010.

(Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)

為表達對索要嫁妝的陋習的憤怒，模仿“憤怒的小鳥”而成的游戲“憤怒的新娘”在網絡上走紅。這款游戲旨在引起人們對這一仍然在很多南亞國家盛行的非法行為的重視，這種行為可能導致新娘遭到暴力。

傳統上講，新娘的娘家會向新郎及婆家贈予珠寶、衣物、汽車和金錢等嫁妝，以確保新娘在她的新家里會得到照顧。

五十多年前這一風俗就被定為非法，但是如今依舊盛行。有些男方家庭婚后會索要更多錢財，導致妻子受到精神和肉體折磨，甚至可能導致自殺。

在最慘痛的案例中，妻子可能會被丈夫和婆家謀殺，通常是被潑上煤油燒死，也就是所謂的“被火爐燒死”。

婚戀網Shaddi.com的高級副總裁兼網絡營銷主管拉姆?巴密迪說：“我們通過‘憤怒的新娘’這款游戲把嫁妝這種陋習推上前臺。”該網站有兩百萬名成員。

“2007年的一項調查顯示，印度每四個小時就會有人因與嫁妝有關的案件而死亡。我們譴責這種惡行，而且一直在社交媒體上舉辦活動，以便讓民眾認識到這個問題。”

這款游戲發布在該網站的Facebook主頁上，名稱模仿了全球知名游戲“憤怒的小鳥”。主頁上有一位紅衣八臂女，象征著法力無邊的印度教女神。

下方的說明寫道：“女人能給你力量、關心和你需要的愛，絕非嫁妝！”。

玩游戲時，玩家必須擊中三個閃躲的新郎，分別是飛行員、建筑工和醫生。玩家可挑選多種武器，包括細高跟鞋，煎鍋、掃帚、西紅柿和拖鞋。