PERCEPTION OF UNMARRIED GIRLS ABOUT NEGATIVE

ASPECTS OF DOWRY SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION:
DOWRY: An amount of property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their
marriage.A dowry establishes a type of conjugal fund, the nature of which may vary widely. This
fund may provide an element of financial security in widowhood or against a negligent husband,
and may eventually go to provide for her children.[1] Dowries may also go toward establishing a
marital household, and therefore might include furnishings such as linens and furniture.

Locally, dowry is called “dahej” in Hindi, “jehaz” in Urdu and Arabic, “joutuk” in
Bengali, “jiazhuang” in Mandarin, “çeyiz” in Turkish, dot in French, “daijo” in Nepali,and in
various parts of Africa as “serotwana,idana, saduquat, or mugtaf”.

A dowry used is actually a conditional gift that is supposed to be restored to the wife or her family
if the husband divorces, abuses, or commits other grave offenses against
her. Land and precious metals have often been used in this form of dowry and are frequently
inalienable by the husband, though he might otherwise use and profit from them during the
marriage.

A dowry sometimes serves to help a new husband discharge the responsibilities that go with
marriage. This function assumes special importance in societies where marriages have regularly
been made between very young people; the dowry enables the new couple to establish a
household, which they otherwise would not have been able to do. In some societies a dowry
provides the wife with a means of support in case of her husband’s death. In this latter case the
dowry may be seen as a substitute for her inheritance of all or part of her husband’s estate

HISTORY OF DOWRY:

The money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband or his family in marriage. Most
common in cultures that are strongly patrilineal and that expect women to reside with or near
their husband’s family (patrilocality), dowries have a long history in Europe, South Asia, Africa,
and other parts of the world.One of the basic functions of a dowry has been to serve as a form of
protection for the wife against the very real possibility of ill treatment by her husband and his
family.
In medieval and Renaissance Europe, the dowry frequently served not only to enhance the
desirability of a woman for marriage but also to build the power and wealth of great families and
even to determine the frontiers and policies of states. The use of dowries more or less
disappeared in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. In some other places, however, dowries
grew in popularity at the end of the 20th century, even when declared illegal or otherwise
discouraged by governments. In South Asia, forinstance, parents of the groom have
sometimesdemanded compensation for their son’s higher education and future
earnings.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry#Historical_practices)

As well as India, there are manycountries in the world where people practicing it:

 Europe:With the advent of Christianity and religious orders, women brought their dowries
with them when they became nuns, as they were becoming the "bride of Christ” .In some
parts of Europe, land dowries were common. In Grafschaft Bentham, for instance, it was not
uncommon for people who had no sons to give a land dowry to their new son-in-law with the
stipulation attached that with the land comes the family name whence it came, thus a
condition of the land dowry was that the groom would take on the family name of his bride.
In Europe it is still common for the bride's family to pay for the majority of the wedding
costs.

 China:In the traditional Chinese society, dowry is a symbol of social status as well as
affection from the bride's family. The parading of the dowry during the traditional Chinese
wedding procession from the bride's home to the groom's home was and is still to some
extent important in the various rituals.

 The United States: In the United States, the dowry system continues in an unique way. The
Hope Chest, or Glory Chest as it is called in the Australian outback, was a method to
provide a type of dowry for the daughter while pioneering the frontier. In the UK, it is often
known as the Bottom Drawer, a place where things are stored to prepare for the future.

 In the difficult situation presented by the westward movement in the United States in the
1800s, the mother would teach her daughter how to make the things she would need to start
up her household. Together they made items like quilts, aprons, pillow cases and collect
china ware, pots and anything that would have functional or sentimental value for the
preparation of the girl's future marriage and home. These items would fill the chest, and often
became precious heirlooms for many generations.

 Dowry and bride price has been part of various societies within the continent. Modernization
has influenced the practice, and there is much current debate on whether it is good or bad. As
tribal practices vary widely, and many laws are still pending, it is hard to draw any universal
patterns. Even the Islamic community seems divided in that some do continue this cultural
practice, while others claim it is opposite to the true faith one should show in Islam.
(https://www.quora.com/Is-the-dowry-system-present-in-countries-other-than-India)

DISADVANTAGES OF DOWRY SYSTEM:Main disadvantages of dowry system:

1. People from very poor family when demanded dowry for their girls at marriage, they
involve themselves in pleading. Even though they lose their self-esteem, they are
begging mosque to mosque, store to store.

2. Women become mentally affected as they could not meet the amount of dowry and
they continually tortured by her in-laws
 3. Due to dowry system, neither the poor people get married their daughters nor they
cease them at their home. In addition their age is passing bit by bit. To avoid the
misfortune and grief, they suicide themselves.

4. To meet the demand of dowry some lower class family girls try to earn money from
evil and unethical ways.

DOWRY SYSTEM IN PAKISTANI SOCIETY:The concept of dowry was common

in Europe until the 19th century and is still important in Islamic world. Pakistan adopted the
dowry system from Indian culture. In recent years, there has been an increased in the value of
dowries in Pakistan. The upper class of our society gives dowry according to their own status.
They provide the things from basic needs to the things which come in luxuries including luxury
cars, luxury bungalows. They show off to the people. The class of poor people they are being
grinded in the competition of dowry. They did not marry their daughter.

Dowry is a social evil which has affected our society very badly. It has caused too much
destruction to the socio-economic structure. The dowry system has given birth too many evils. It
will draw many girls to suicide to save their parents from economic drudgery.In many families,
the birth of a daughter was regarded as a curse and there was a case when daughters born in the
family were put to death. The boy accepts that girl who belongs to a well-off family, highly
educated in service and earns. He also wants a girl whose parents can give much dowry at the
time of marriage. The system of dowry in our society is an act of discrimination against
unmarried girls whose values are defined based on their respective dowries. The cases in
Pakistan are high due to the concept of dowry. When the engagement is broken due to the dowry
the girl begins to live in the society with a sense of insecurity develops an inferiority complex
and remains emotionally suppressed. She feels herself to be a burden on her parents. So she
suicide herself. She becomes depressed. Due to fewer dowries the in-laws tortured the girl, they
abused, insults and passed the sarcastic remarks.. (https://www.voj.news/dowry-system-in-
pakistani-society/)

At the end, I want to give suggestions that a dowry is a very bad thing and should be banned in
all countries. Banning this tradition leads to happier life because it is a source of stress among
parents of girls. There should be proper rules and laws about a dowry. Proper steps should be
taken to reduce this harmful disease in society. Dowry is becoming a convention in civilization
gradually. Thus, parents have to stop demanding dowry. NGOS should be there and make honest
efforts to curtail this practice

LITERATURE REVIEW:
Priyanka Rawal , Jyoti Singh in 2014 conducted a study in India about Practice of Dowry and
Domestic Violence This study defines the relation between domestic violence and dowry
demands. Forty cases of dowry related domestic violence were studied here from western UP,
India. Most of the women in this study experienced dowry related domestic violence got married
in their early ages, from rural background and have a lower household income and not working
Majority of cases reported in the early years of marriage and they were from lower educational
background. The result of this study indicates that Economic empowerment, together with higher
education and modified cultural norms may protect the women from such type of social
evil.(http://www.isca.in/rjrs/archive/v3/iIVC-2014/17.ISCA-IVC-2014-09FMS-05.pdf)

Another research conducted by Ms.Mahek Singh in June 2013, he said that dowry is a social
custom and it is very difficult to change customs all of a sudden; practicing customs generate and
strengthen solidarity and cohesiveness among people; many people give and take dowry only
because their parents and forefathers had been practicing it. Till the time the younger generation
musters courage to stop this practice and girls resist social pressure to take it, people will stick to
this custom.

On the other hands there is a study conducted by Basharat Manzoor, Lahore , Pakistanon dowry
system in societythat dowry is an immorality in the society which must be banned in the country.
It leads toward promoting many conflicts, quarrels and greed in the civilization. Consequences of
this research show that people of Pakistan are well aware of dowry system and its evil abuses.
Both love and arrange marriage and both educated and illiterate people are practicing dowry
system in the society of Pakistan. Nevertheless, people are not in the favor of this system.
Moreover, girls become mentally affected and parents lose their self-respect under the burden of
dowry. The foremost reason for exercising dowry is greed. Middle class is one the most involved
class in youth and government both should dowry system as compared to lower and middle class
(http://www.hamariweb.com/articles/article.aspx?id=57298)

Sidra, Farwa Razzaq ,Department of Anthropology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi

conducted study in 2014 thatdowry is leading cause behind domestic conflicts, violence and
discrimination in marriage. People are not well aware if the tradition originated from the prepetition
time or is an Islamic custom. People of all types, either educated or not are clutched in the dowry
system. It is equally practiced in love and arranged marriages. Parents believe that girls, who are
endowed with dowry from consanguineous, usually hold a highest status in their in laws as compared to
those who are not privilege enough. Similarly affine relatives also expect that daughter in law will bring a
lot dowry. In the opinion of the respondents the custom should be banned and the government
should take steps to uproot it.( http://theexplorerpak.org/PDFs/PDF%20Files%20vol-
1%20issue-1/Vol-1%20Issue)

Manuela MOTA & Sara Falcão casaca conducted a study in 2016 ,Indiathat shows Women with
higher levels of education were more critical in relation to: the dowry system as a mechanism of
reproduction of the low status of women and of the persistent asymmetries in gender relations.
They also wish to educate sons and daughters under equal conditions and tend to value marriages
based on love at the expense of arranged ones.the education system (programs and curricula)
needs to be congruent with gender equality, targeting both women and men in the project of
challenging the predominant patriarchal structure
OBJECTIVE:
 To verify that to how dowry system is affecting our society.
 To examine point of view of unmarried girls about dowry system
 To identify the negative aspects of dowry system

Survey question:
Q: What is the opinion of unmarried girls in terms of pattern, demand and negative effects of dowry

METHODOLOGY:

Primary data:

Primary data collected by researcher through questionnaire.

Secondary data:

Secondary data collect from research articles published in high ranking journals.

Research design/sample and population :

It is a survey, the data was collected from students of Karachi University

 50 students (unmarried girls) were taken as a sample on convenient basis.

 Questionnaire was used to assess this study.

 Questionnaire was filled by the students to analyze the perception about negative aspects
of dowry system