Historical records show a continuing trend of women across the world becoming victims of misogynistic societies. The constant oppression faced by women has led to a fight for equal rights in all spheres of society. However, the successes are limited and the failures are more numerous than we would like to remember, and women continue to be oppressed in almost every aspect of life, from the political to the personal and from the public to the private. It is essential to understand and understand that the basis of women's inequality today lies in patriarchal cultures, which are mostly based on patriarchal religions. Women are not seen as fully equal human beings, deserving of the same dignity, rights and treatment as men. Rather, women are valued for providing sex to men – whether as wives or prostitutes – and then for their ability to spend all their time running the house, maintaining the family and raising children. (Cline, 2007). Most cases of inequality to this extent are present in third world and developing countries like India, where women are victimized from birth as they are marginalized as second-class citizens in the patriarchal community. The patriarchal culture of India is an excellent example of a culture in which a woman has always been the exclusive property of her father, brother or husband, without any will of her own. Most of the time Indian women are victims at the hands of their loved ones. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, every hour that passes in India inflicts more brutality on women, with two rapes, two kidnappings, four sexual assaults and seven incidents of cruelty by husbands and relatives (The Times of India, 2008 ). These staggering statistics originate from a combination...... middle of paper ...... involvement in disputes over dowry transactions can result in members being subject to criminal prosecution and potentially imprisonment from the woman's own family. Moreover, police action is unlikely to stop demands for dowry payments (Hitchcock, 2001). Married life is something that young women around the world look forward to, but for most women in India, it turns into a nightmare in which they have to fight to survive. The majority of women are raised with very orthodox morals, so they are unlikely to challenge the male figures in their lives, even if it means it costs them their lives. Young brides who bring with them an adequate dowry or are fortunate enough to find good in the law do not suffer the horrors that some face, but may eventually have to deal with other pressures imposed on them by their beau -family..