‘We decided to take a stand’: why some Indian families are returning dowries
June 5, 2017
A successful drive to curtail the practice of wedding dowries in certain Muslim areas of India is reaping dividends – and even crossing religious boundaries
When Safik Ansari decided to marry off his daughter, he told the village chief that his paltry income from pulling a rickshaw meant he was unable to pay the groom an appropriate dowry.
Although India banned dowry payments in 1961, the custom remains widespread and Ansari was preparing to go door-to-door seeking money from wealthier villagers. To his surprise, however, the chief said he would not have to pay one. The local Dahez Roko Abhiyan (DRA), or stop dowry campaign, would help him with the wedding arrangements, explained the chief.
The DRA is an initiative to tackle the dowry problem in Muslim areas, but its creators hope it will spread to the Hindu community and other religious groups.
Ansari explained the benefits to him. “Members of the DRA put me in contact with a boy in a nearby village and, as they directed, I sent a marriage proposal to his family,” he said. “They accepted the proposal and the family has not demanded any dowry. And next week my daughter is going to get married to that boy.
