Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
violence in Pakistan
Submitted by:
Mahjabeen
Marvi(13071)
Amra Irfan(
Shazaib Ahmed(
What is Dowry?
A dowry is money, property, or goods that a woman brings as a gift to her
husband upon marriage. The practice of using a dowry, also known as
trousseau, is a custom that has been around for centuries and was most
commonly practiced in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Modern times have seen this
practice fall by the wayside because of abuse suffered by women as a result
of misuse of the practice.
Historic evolution
Dowry is an ancient custom, and its existence may well predate its records.
Historically, dowry was a way of providing a woman with a portion of her
familys wealth, which she would not otherwise be entitled to through
inheritance. It was believed to be the best way to protect a woman from
suffering abuse or ill treatment by her husband. The use of a dowry was
combined with a bride price, or rather an amount of money or property the
groom would pay to the brides family in exchange for her marriage to him.
Dowry first came from upper-class families as the wedding gifts from the
brides family to her to help her family or to the husband for his needs. Well
after this started, dowry evolved into a type of insurance that was offered
along with money for the wedding. The dowry became the property of the
husband, whereas the woman would inherit the dowry if she were widowed.
Conversely, should the woman die, the dowry, less the cost of the bride
price, would be inherited by her natural born children.
Evidence from India, however, indicates that the positive effects of dowry for
wives have more than diminished. Once considered a beneficent and even
spiritual act observed only by the wealthiest and holiest castes (with the
lower castes practicing the more pragmatic tradition of bride price, involving
compensation by the grooms family to the brides family for the loss of
human capital), the dowry system today often functions more as a
commercial transaction and has been resolutely embraced by the middle and
lower classes.
In the past, if a woman died without sons, her husband had to refund the
dowry but could deduct the value of the bride price.
In many ancient cultures, the practice of bride price began to wane, and a
transformation to the custom of dowry occurred as these civilizations grew
and flourished. In present times, this pattern is reflected in a comparison
between dowry-paying India, where the caste system represents perhaps an
extreme example of social stratification, and the more homogeneous tribal
societies of sub-Saharan Africa that practice bride price.
Dowry Death
Dowry deaths are the deaths of young women who are murdered or driven
to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by husbands and in-laws in
an effort to extort an increased dowry. Dowry deaths are reported in various
South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Dowry death
is considered one of the many categories of violence against women in South
Asia. According to Indian National Crime Record Bureau, there were 1948
convictions and 3876 acquittals in dowry death cases in year 2008, and if we
look at the situation in Pakistan it is has the highest reported rates of dowry-
related deaths per 100,000 women in the world.
Most dowry deaths occur when the young woman, unable to bear the
harassment and torture, commits suicide. Most of these suicides are by
hanging, poisoning or by fire. Sometimes the woman is killed by setting her
on fire; this is known as "bride burning", and sometimes disguised as suicide
or accident. According to Indian police, every year it receives over 2,500
reports of bride-burning, while human rights organizations in Pakistan report
over 300 deaths per year. The Indian National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
reports that there were about 8172 dowry death cases registered in India in
2008. Incidents of dowry deaths during the year 2008 (8172) have increased
by 14.4 per cent over 1998 level (7146).
The Dowry Prohibition Act, passed in India in 1961, prohibits the request,
payment or acceptance of a dowry, "as consideration for the marriage",
where "dowry" is defined as a gift demanded or given as a precondition for a
marriage. Gifts given without a precondition are not considered dowry, and
are legal. Asking or giving of dowry can be punished by an imprisonment of
up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs. 5000. It replaced several pieces of
anti-dowry legislation that had been enacted by various Indian states.
of more than four local cases of women being burnt weekly, three of the four
fatally. Police follow-up on these cases was negligible, with only six suspects
taken into custody out of 215 cases reported in Lahore newspapers during
the year. In 1997, there was not a single conviction in a stove-death case
in the country. It remains a mystery for social science researchers as to why
stoves burst in susrals (marital homes) only and why the victim is always a
bahu (daughter in law).
There are certain factors that ensure the continuity of the practice
of dowry, such as:
The actors in dowry violence are men and women who are participants in
local, regional or national cultures, in religious and social-traditional and yet
current and contemporary normative orders that are in the process of being
constantly tested and modified.
Obligatory Jahez takes a heavy toll on the family of dulhan - the bride.
Dowry is a multi-faceted deep-rooted gender issue with social, economic and
health consequences. In spite of a consensus on disliking the practice, only a
few have the courage to disown it. According to renowned Indian writer Shri
Sharma the evolution of dowry is originally from a gift creating expectation
leading to demands and greed. A large dowry can be an important attribute
of status to both men and women. Dowry, which is popularly considered as a
Hindu custom, has visibly migrated, escalated and embraced in all the areas
of the present day Pakistan. It has become an active tradition, norm and
religious practice for those who believe that there is an absence of such
custom and tradition in their faith. The implication of this convenient
forgetfulness is inattentiveness to dowry-related violence.
HRCP reported only one case of dowry-related violence in 2001.In that case
the victim was burnt to death by her in-laws for not bringing sufficient dowry.
A research study conducted by sachet (a CSO) on gender-based violence as
reported in the print media also confirmed this statistic. Does this mean that
in reality also, only one woman fell victim to dowry death? I sent one of our
research officers to find some clues. Here is her back-to-office report.
There had been localized and limited efforts by small-scale welfare societies
in the 1960s and 1970s aiming at awareness rising and motivation
campaigns to convince people at the mohalla level to resist the mindless
following of dowry demands. However, with the advent of international
donors in the 1980s, the CSOs in Pakistan have either undertook campaigns
against other more visibly anti-women oppressive mechanisms like hudood
ordinance or political marginalization under the Zia regime. Later too, the
CSOs have taken up issues of expressed violence thus being symptomatic
and not delving into the deep rooted causes of violence against women,
dowry being one primary cause.
Taking notice of the visible exclusion of dowry as a gender issue from the
agenda and aims of development CSOs and self-acclaimed gender experts, I
initiated fight against dowry (fad) through the platform of SACHET, which I co
founded nearly five years back. FAD has been shaped into a project in
Jan`02.The main objective of this project, rather a movement is to Eradicate
(institution and practice of) Dowry in Pakistan. The key strategies to achieve
this aim are research and communication. The activity spectrum ranges from
surveys, signature campaigns, e-petitions, youth-parent consultations, legal
advice, and amendments in the existing law, lobbying, TV programs to
anything possible under the sun.
Challenges
How dowry could be made a high priority agenda to create a critical
mass to combat this institutional violence?
Do we have any political commitment in this regard and how far our
governments are ready to go in this respect?
It has been quite some time since I heard about a particular wedding
scandal. Nevertheless, it was atrocious to say the least and has stuck in my
mind ever since. It was an Indian wedding and the groom went with his
father-in-law to inspect the dowry. It was quite a big room; chock full of
valuables ranging from a TV, refrigerator, and bike to clothes, jewellery and
so forth.
The verdict: There should have been a car as well!
The distraught father pleaded that he had nothing more left, but to no avail.
The guy threatened to walk off if he wasnt promised a car. In desperation,
the father complied. As it were, the daughter found out about the deal one
way or another and she refused to be tied up with a greedy pig for the rest of
her life!
I remember thinking how brave the girl was but I also recall the misery of her
father. It just filled me with gratitude for living somewhere where brides were
not subjected to such a materialistic weighing down. Its hilarious how totally
off the mark my judgment was.
A few years ago, my sister was invited by her colleague to her daughters
wedding. The cards were sent out and her wedding dress, jewelry, trousseau,
hall bookings, and salon appointments-everything was ready.
There was barely more than a fortnight left when all of a sudden everything
was cancelled. No one could have imagined the cards would be played out
like this and it was flabbergasting to say the least.
We found out the reason eventually. The guy and his family had come to visit
and the topic of inheritance was brought up. The father of the bride
mentioned that there was a piece of land that would be transferred in his
daughters name and a few other things which would be jointly owned by the
couple. The guy said that the property should be transferred to his name
instead, to which the father responded that this was his daughters
inheritance, just like all his children had been bequeathed-not a wedding gift.
The property would remain in his daughters name. The guy insisted that
what belonged to his wife would come to him anyways so it should go
straight to his name. He remained adamant on this point and was backed by
his parents. Fearing the consequences of their non-compliance, the brides
parents gave in.
The daughter was furious at the pressure put on her parents. She spoke to
her fiance again, but he refused point-blank to have the property in her
name. Even joint ownership was not palatable to him. The papers had to be
drawn up under his name alone.
My sister was a friend of the brides mother and this is the only reason why
she got to know the truth. Even though they had not done anything wrong,
their daughters interests were at stake and there was no point in airing dirty
laundry.
Even though the dowry system does have a weak standing in our society, its
believers practice it with rigidity. Only a few days back, a friend was telling
me about her cousins wedding preparations. There was talk of 70 heavily
embroidered suits, numerous jewelry sets, miscellaneous household items
and to top it all of-a fully carved and crafted master bed. I just gaped at her.
She assured me that her cousin was an only daughter and had hitherto spent
life with a silver spoon in her mouth. This mountain of gifts was bestowed
with blessed free will, but it would be nonsensical to pretend that this is
always the case.
This reflection hits the nail right on the head. I have a friend whose parents
gifted her husband a car. One of my fathers cousins got an apartment from
her father. Willingly given; gratefully accepted-nothing wrong with that. Alas,
this simple tradition has been distorted into: If not willingly given; then
forcefully taken.
I have a married sister and thankfully, the jahaiz system isnt perpetuated in
our stratum, but it is deeply rooted in others. Those poor girls want to do
away with all these shenanigans too, but it is easier to look from afar and
say, doesnt matter what your community thinks; stand up for yourself.
Whatever the right thing may be; social standing matters a great deal. There
are few amongst us so stouthearted, that they dare to openly defy the whole
society and risk communal ostracism. People will not burst into applause like
in the movies. If not their scorn, their coldness will break your spirit.
We need not look further than our beloved Rasul-ul-Allah (S.A.W) to get a fair
idea of the requirements of a brides dowry. He got his daughters married in
the simplest possible manner. I will conclude my article with following
narration by Ibn e Hibbaan:
INTRODUCTION
Family is one of those social institutions which are accepted by individuals
due to long established traditions. A family unit cannot come into existence
without the institution of marriage, since the institutions of family and
marriage are interdependent. Marriage in Islam is not a private and personal
affair of an individual or between the two individuals, but is a matter of
concern for the society to which they belong. The marriage under such a
situation needs social recognition and hence the display of pomp and show in
various forms and ceremonies is observed in which dowry is considered to be
the most important one. The literal meaning of the word dowry is "the
money, goods or estate which a woman brings to her husband in marriage"
(Webster, 1979). The basic idea behind the dowry system has been to
provide some financial assistance to the married couple in terms of clothing,
utensils, furniture, etc. to enable them to start an independent life. In many
societies, the daughters are generally deprived of the landed property of
their parents, thus dowry is considered a sort of compensation for that
deprivation. But with the passage of time, the dowry has become an
unbearable burden for the parents particularly for those who have poor
economic conditions. However, in this society, dowry is considered as a key
to the future marital adjustment. If the parents of the bride belong to higher
social class, the amount of dowry given acts as a symbol of pride and respect
for them. Therefore, they spend lavishly on dowry. However, due to this
trend, sometimes poor girls do not get married simply because their parents
fail to fulfill the requirements of dowry. In a society like ours a common man
has low income; dowry therefore becomes a big problem for him to get her
daughters married. Ismail (1991) observed that the undesirable practice of
dowry has created a very painful situation especially for the middle class
families. The helplessness of poor and middle class parents is awfully on the
rise. Islam does not like the prevalent dowry system. The Prophet
Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) married his daughter Fatima (R.T.A.) in a
very simple manner. Instead of dowry, there is a concept Of "Dower" or
"Mehr". Nevertheless, inspite of its non-requirement in law and being against
religious teachings, dowry has become one of the most unwanted yet
important customs of our society. Keeping the said aspect in view, the study
was undertaken to get an insight into dowry and marriage arrangements in a
rural area of Faisalabad district.
The above table indicates that more than half of the respondents (54 %)
were married with their 1st cousins. while 32% had been married with 2nd
cousins. Brown (1952) reported a high degree of marriages within kin groups.
He found that of 107 marriages in a Keatuchy mountain community, only 31
involved persons were
3rd or closer cousins.
This table indicates that of 150 respondents who had been given dowry, a
large majority (78.02%) did not consider, dowry as, a substitute for land,
whereas54.00% respondents parents had no land. However, 21.08 %
respondents considered dowry as a substitute of land and the parents had to
comply with this demand for the marriage of their daughters. Table 3 shows
that of 69 respondents who had been given land as a substitute for dowry, a
simple majority of 64.04 % was still undecided in this regard. Most of them
responded that as their brothers were still younger thus no decision seemed
possible in near future, while 36.02 % were the respondents who made no
such demand. However, the remaining 17.04 % respondents expressed that
their in-laws demanded dowry as a substitute for land.
Another story is about Abu Talhah who proposed a woman who, in reply to
his proposal said, "A man of your stature is not to be rejected, but you are a
Disbeliever and I am a Muslim. It is unlawful for me to marry you. If you
embrace Islam, that will be my dowry and no more will I ask of you." Further,
he embraced Islam and that was her dowry. Similarly, in Islam if a master
wishes to marry his slave girl and offers her freedom as a dowry, both the
offer and the marriage are valid.
However, few years after Muhammad (pbuh)'s death, there are some
indications that women took advantage of this permissibility to an alarming
extent. Umar, the Caliph, was opposed to this tendency and spoke against it
in the mosque. He recommended that dowries be reduced to moderate
limits. A woman rose from the congregation and argued, "Commander of the
Believers! Why do you want to deny us a God-given right?" When she recited
the relevant Qur'anic verse (An Nisaa, 4: 20), Umar admitted that he was
mistaken and withdrew his recommendations.
So far no explanation has been found adequate to account for the dowry in
Islam. It seems fairly clear that dowry is a symbolic value, but what it
symbolizes may not be so obvious. Dowry is probably a symbolic expression
of the groom's cognizance of the economic responsibilities of marriage and
of his readiness to discharge all such responsibilities subsequent to marriage.
References
http://www.pro-pakistan.com/2009/11/21/dowry-or-jahaiz-culture-in-our-society/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bride_burning#In_Pakistan
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry
www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-dowry.htm
http://pakjas.com.pk/upload/90838.pdf
http://sachet.org.pk/home/gender_columns/webcolumn_27.asp
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/08-
Mar-2010/Honour-killings-dowry-deaths
http://www.brighthub.com/society/religion-spirituality/articles/103553.aspx