Dowry Claims and Bride Prices

Another evil that haunts our society is the bride-price system. Bride-price is basically an amount of money demanded from the bridegroom or his family by the bride or her family, usually bride’s father, without which the daughter will not be given in marriage. It was a common practice in the pre-Islamic era of the pagans who treated women as articles of trade. However, with the emergence of Islam such senseless and ridiculous practices got abolished and banned and instead haq-meher was introduced which is paid by the husband to the wife at the time of nikkah (marriage) as a form of security in case of the dissolution of marriage. In spite of that, in Pakistan, especially in the tribal areas, people are still practicing the bride-price system thus transforming the marriage agreement into a transaction of a commodity, i.e. the bride. Girls as young as ten, who do not even understand the responsibilities of a married life, are given in marriage to men as old as fifty. The poor class sells their young daughters due to extreme poverty but they do not perceive the perils that she will have to face after her marriage. Such men, who pay the bride-price to get married, consider it a right of ownership thus treating their wives according to their will. A married woman or girl can not even protest against the cruelties or ask for dissolution as this will mean risking additional violence at the hands of her natal family, whose worries about paying back the bride-price can take precedence over any concerns about the health and welfare of the daughter.

Eradication of such evils can never be achieved with the blink of an eye. But with time and consistent efforts we can free our society from both the dowry system and the bride-price system. The first and foremost step should be to pass legislations in the parliament against both practices. This, however, will not at all be a conclusive solution and there will be a need for the provision of adequate resources for law enforcement and support services in order to curb the practices. Secondly large scale awareness programs will also help in reducing both the crimes from our society.

Since Islam has granted women equal status to that of men and also grants her right to property, we as a Muslim country should not indulge in these absurd customs and traditions which are an imitation of the ancient Hindu culture in which daughters were not given any share in the family property, but were given payments, part of which might be In the form of household goods, as a measure of compensation. We should only follow what our Holy Prophet  taught us and what is mentioned in the Holy Quran and refrain from practices that transform marriage into a mere transaction and thus depriving it of its real meaning and purpose.