When words disempower: A computational feminist analysis of dowry narratives in South Asian press

Although legally prohibited, the dowry system remains a persistent threat to women’s safety and autonomy across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. This study examines how English language newspapers in these countries frame dowry related news, using a novel computational tool, the Dowry Disempowerment Index (DDI), to measure narrative agency and lexical framing. Drawing on feminist media theories of symbolic annihilation and gendered mediation, the study applies a custom lexicon of victimhood, passivity, and empowerment to over 8000 news articles published between 2004 and 2024. By integrating sentiment polarity and term frequency, the DDI quantifies the extent of disempowerment or resistance encoded in media discourse. Regression analysis reveals that victim and passive language significantly elevate DDI scores, while empowerment terms lower them. Bangladesh and India exhibit the highest narrative disempowerment, while Pakistan demonstrates relatively lower DDI scores, partly due to structural critiques and community based narratives. Nepal’s neutral framing reflects its portrayal of dowry as a social deviation. This research offers a scalable, replicable model for computational feminist media analysis and calls for a shift in journalistic framing to amplify women’s agency and rights in public discourse. The findings hold implications for feminist advocacy and media reform.