Sindh to restrict dowries in the province

Bridal gifts, dowries will be sole property of the brides, according to proposed law

KARACHI: The Sindh government has prepared a draft law to restrict the practice of giving dowries in the province.

According to the Sindh Restriction of Dowry Act, 2017, any person directly or indirectly demanding a dowry from the family or relatives of the bride shall be punished with one-year’s imprisonment.  The law states that action will be taken against people blaming, harassing and insulting brides for not bringing a dowry.

“Six months punishment will be given to those who insult brides in the name of dowry,” the proposal law states, adding that no property given as dowry to the bride shall be displayed in any ceremony related to marriage. “Any person violating this law will be kept behind bars for not less than one year,” the bill said.



The law states that all property given as dowry or a bridal gift shall be the sole property of the bride and neither the husband nor his relatives will have any claim to it. The law states that the parents of the girl can give a maximum dowry of Rs50,000 to their daughter and no one can force them to cross this limit.

In this connection, a consultative meeting was held on Thursday in the committee room of the Sindh Assembly. The meeting was chaired by Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Irum Khalid, who is also the special assistant to the chief minister on women development. Talking to the media, Khalid any person attending a wedding ceremony can lodge a complaint if the law is being violated at the local police station. “The officer incharge of the police station will register the complaint and proceed in accordance with the law,” she explained, adding that the police have to ensure that the law is complied with.

Among others who attended the meeting included Sindh Law Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar, Law Secretary Iftikhar Shalwani, Women Development Secretary Mudasir Iqbal, Mufti Najeeb of Jaamia Darul Uloom and Syed Ghazanfar of Karachi University.



Najeeb was of the view that there was no concept of demanding huge dowries in Islam and that there should be action against lavish wedding ceremonies where people spend millions of rupees. Ghazanfar suggested that an amount be fixed for dowry and its unnecessary demand must be stopped.

The law minister said that after consultation with law experts, religious scholars and women rights activists’ the bill will be referred to the law department for vetting before being introduced in the Sindh Assembly.