Problem
Prohibitive marriage dowry
Other Names:
Insufficient dowryObligatory bride-price
Nature:
Bride price implies selling women into marriage without their consent. The payment of bride-price gives a man total ownership of the woman and over all her children, whether he fathers them or not. If he wishes, he may re-sell both his wife and her children; when he dies she is inherited by his heir and must become his wife, unless the heir chooses to sell her to another man.
Incidence:
In India, this practice used to be restricted to the upper class. Even though it was made illegal in the 1960's, it has become more widespread under pressures of rising consumerism. The dowry may amount to fifteen years' salary of a villager.
Broader Problems:
Economic impediments to marriage Related Problems:
Sexual exploitation of womenInvestment determined marriages Aggravates:
Bride burningChild-marriageForced marriageChattel slaveryTrafficking in womenUnwanted female babiesRejection of wife by husband Strategies:
Eliminating harmful traditional practices affecting health of women and childrenReducing marriage dowryProviding marriage dowryIncreasing dowry Subject(s):
Commerce → Purchasing, supplyingSociety → Marriage
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
G: Very specific problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST