Thursday, May 2, 2024

Jirga in Pakistani Village Bans Dowry for Marriages

According to residents, a Jirga, or council of tribal elders, in the Pakistani province of Lower Dir established a tola (11.7 grammes) of gold as a dowry to aid low-income families in marrying off their children.

The practice of the bride’s family giving the groom’s family furniture, jewellery, cash, and other material possessions upon marriage is known as dowry and is particularly common in Pakistan.

In some areas of Lower Dir, it is customary to require 2–5 tolas of gold as dowry; however, given how much the metal has recently climbed in price, most poor households cannot pay this amount.

One tola, or.44 troy ounces, is Pakistan’s most widely used unit of measurement for precious metals. At the moment, one tola of gold costs Rs215,800. The jirga warned villagers that failure to follow the ruling would result in a Rs 1 million fine.

Villagers were also urged by the jirga to abide by the decision, and anyone who did not, would face a fine of Rs 1 million.

Dowry is one of the significant responsibilities of our society, which is a curse. It has turned into a modern-day scourge. Our disparate economic circumstances have made it even worse. He either fails to complete it or runs into problems, so he borrows money to send the daughter away. To prevent the daughter from having to endure any teasing from her in-laws.

Social ills, including young girls dying, running away from home, or poor girls being unable to marry, are frequently on the rise due to this scourge.

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