反嫁妆陋习游戏“愤怒的新娘”网络走红

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)

为表达对索要嫁妆的陋习的愤怒，模仿“愤怒的小鸟”而成的游戏“愤怒的新娘”在网络上走红。这款游戏旨在引起人们对这一仍然在很多南亚国家盛行的非法行为的重视，这种行为可能导致新娘遭到暴力。

传统上讲，新娘的娘家会向新郎及婆家赠予珠宝、衣物、汽车和金钱等嫁妆，以确保新娘在她的新家里会得到照顾。

五十多年前这一风俗就被定为非法，但是如今依旧盛行。有些男方家庭婚后会索要更多钱财，导致妻子受到精神和肉体折磨，甚至可能导致自杀。

在最惨痛的案例中，妻子可能会被丈夫和婆家谋杀，通常是被泼上煤油烧死，也就是所谓的“被火炉烧死”。

婚恋网Shaddi.com的高级副总裁兼网络营销主管拉姆•巴密迪说：“我们通过‘愤怒的新娘’这款游戏把嫁妆这种陋习推上前台。”该网站有两百万名成员。

“2007年的一项调查显示，印度每四个小时就会有人因与嫁妆有关的案件而死亡。我们谴责这种恶行，而且一直在社交媒体上举办活动，以便让民众认识到这个问题。”

这款游戏发布在该网站的Facebook主页上，名称模仿了全球知名游戏“愤怒的小鸟”。主页上有一位红衣八臂女，象征着法力无边的印度教女神。

下方的说明写道：“女人能给你力量、关心和你需要的爱，绝非嫁妆！”。

玩游戏时，玩家必须击中三个闪躲的新郎，分别是飞行员、建筑工和医生。玩家可挑选多种武器，包括细高跟鞋，煎锅、扫帚、西红柿和拖鞋。