Pakistan has been the first Muslim country to declare a man’s dowry illegal. In recent developments, the Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs has agreed to ban the practice of dowry in which the groom and his family ask for a dowry and then place it on display.
After the decision, Pakistan became the first Muslim country to prohibit the Dowry practice, which is considered to be the origin of domestic abuse along with other social evils.
According to the tradition of the dowry system, the groom’s family is asking for expensive things, such as cars, furniture, properties, and also a huge amount of money from the bride’s family. In many cases, they harass the bride if their demands are not met. In some cases, the brides are killed for the same thing.
It is observed that 95% of marriages in any area of Pakistan require the transfer of dowry from the bride’s family to the groom’s. There are 2000 dowry-related deaths per year in Pakistan, and the average incidence of dowry-related abuse rises by 2.45 per 100,000 women.
According to the new rule, the permitted dowry would only be clothes (only for the bride) and bed sheets. In the case of a divorce, the groom’s side must return all the presents and the dowry to the girl.
It was made obligatory to enter the details of the presents and the dowry given to the bride in the Nikkah-Nama.
