This will be a great breakthrough for everyone and bring about a positive change in our society
KARACHI: This is with regard to the initiative taken by the Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to ban dowry. This is a highly commendable and progressive step. It takes about no less than Rs200,000 to marry off one’s daughter for the middle class and about Rs10 million for the upper class. There were also cases where expenses crossed the heavy sum of Rs40 million, which included a decorated bungalow in a posh area.
It is easy for someone who earns well and has more than enough to ‘give away’ his daughter or daughters. What I do not understand is how can a man who does not have an adequate salary package afford all of this for his daughter? And, if he chooses not to afford the luxuries through loans and other means, he faces the society that mocks him and questions his love for his daughter. Loans are an easy escape route, but they start a vicious cycle of financial torment if the father is unable to repay the loan. Dowry is unacceptable and the societal standards are even more ridiculous.
I, being someone’s daughter, request the Government of Pakistan to take notice of this impressive initiative and apply it to the rest of Pakistan, mobilising other provincial governments. This will be a great breakthrough for everyone and bring about a positive change in our society.
Aleena Batool Naqvi
Published in The Express Tribune, March 9th, 2017.
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