India’s ’Angry Brides’ game wages war on dowry 印度「憤怒新娘」遊戲向嫁妝陋習宣戰

India’s ’Angry Brides’ game wages war on dowry 
印度「憤怒新娘」遊戲向嫁妝陋習宣戰
2012-03-03◎陳成良

An online game in India called "Angry Brides" which seeks to highlight the problem of illegal dowry demands has attracted more than 270,000 fans.
印度一款名為「憤怒新娘」的線上遊戲，旨在凸顯非法索取嫁妝帶來的問題，吸引了逾27萬名粉絲。

The game by online matchmaker shaadi.com – inspired by the hugely popular "Angry Birds" game – sees players attack prospective grooms greedy for dowry with a variety of weapons, from a brick-red stiletto to a broomstick.
這款遊戲由婚友網站「Shaadi.com」推出，靈感來自廣受歡迎的「憤怒鳥」遊戲，玩家可使用從磚紅色細高跟鞋到帚柄等各式武器來攻擊貪求嫁妝的準新郎。

The three grooms – an engineer, a doctor and a pilot – dodge the attacks while demanding dowries starting at 1.5 million rupees. Each time a player hits a groom, he or she wins money towards a virtual anti-dowry fund.
遊戲中的3位新郎分別是工程師、醫生和飛行員。他們一邊索求150萬盧比起跳的嫁妝，一邊躲避著玩家的進攻。玩家每擊中新郎一次，他或她就會贏得一筆虛擬的反嫁妝資金。

The game, available as a free application on Facebook, has already attracted more than 272,000 "likes."
這款遊戲在臉書上是一款免費應用程式，已吸引了超過27萬2000人按「讚」。

Paying and accepting a dowry in India has been illegal since 1961, but the centuries-old tradition of the bride’s parents presenting gifts of cash, clothes, jewellery, even appliances to the groom’s family remains strong.
從1961年至今，收送嫁妝在印度都是違法的，但是新娘的父母向新郎家庭贈送現金、衣服、珠寶甚至器具等禮物的傳統已有幾世紀之久，至今依然盛行。

Demands for dowry often persist well past the wedding ceremonies, and in the worst cases, brides are tortured and even murdered if they or their parents do not comply.(AFO)
索取嫁妝的情況就算在婚禮後也揮之不去，在最壞的情況下，如果新娘或她們的父母不給嫁妝，新娘就會受到折磨甚至被謀殺。（法新社）

新聞辭典

wage war：片語，（對某事）開戰。例句：When the rich wage war, it is the poor who die.（富人發動的戰爭，窮人來抵命。）

dowry：名詞，嫁妝、聘金。例句︰She had a dowry of ￡20,000.（她的嫁妝有2萬英鎊。）；dowry death（印度陋習）指新娘因嫁妝不足而被焚。

stiletto：名詞，細高跟鞋。例句：I don’t own a single pair of kitten heels. I’m definitely a stiletto fan. （我一雙中根鞋都沒有。我絕對是個細高跟鞋的粉絲。）