Legislation against dowry practice in Pakistan stressed

Islamabad

A group of activists, academics, lawyers and youth leaders on Thursday assembled at Agehi, the secretariat of FADAN, a network of volunteers for advocacy for legislation against dowry violence in Pakistan and encouraging young men and women to reject the socially-accepted custom of giving and receiving dowry.

The group strongly endorsed the movement against dowry and articulated the need of a law that completely bans dowry.  They called for the definition of dowry to include the conventionally understood ‘Jahez’ and also ‘wulvar’ (bridal gift price) and ‘barri’ (items given or expected from the bridegroom).

Speaking on the occasion, rights activist, Tahira Abdullah, outlined the requirements of a phased consultative process and the substantive content of an anti-dowry law for Pakistan, including items to be inserted in the statement of objects and reasons, definitions, text, and rules. Dr Riffat Haq, an academic and expert on women studies, highlighted the need and significance of including anti-dowry messages in the curriculum of Gender Studies departments of universities. Dr. Sadaf Naveed spoke about the public health impact of dowry-related violence.

The FADAN Founder-Chair, Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen briefed the group on the history of the FADAN campaigns, and presented a concept paper on the envisaged future campaign and planned activities, keeping in mind the experiences gained, knowledge, information and issues related to dowry practices and inherent gender-based violence (GBV). The overall objective is to gain recognition of dowry-related violence as a form of VAWG/GBV and the goal is the complete eradication of the practice of dowry.

Youth representatives from DoSTI YAN (Youth Advocacy Network), Saima Bashir and Hamid Zaman, disclosed the harmful aspects of this culturally accepted and socially endorsed form of violence against women/girls and men/boys in remote areas of Pakistan. Young lawyer, Daniyal Hassan expressed his determination to work voluntarily with FADAN for drafting the proposed anti-dowry legislation.

Earlier, the participants condoled the sudden and tragic passing of the young photojournalist, Huma Chaudhry. They paid tribute to her dedication and commitment. She covered the first National Anti-Dowry Day on November 17, 2015 and was eager to share the journey of FADAN and be part of future plans and actions. 

The meeting ended with the consensus that Pakistan urgently needs legislation against the abhorrent practice of dowry, and the parliamentarians, government functionaries, academics, civil society, eminent personalities, literati, media and other opinion makers need to recognise that the institution of dowry is a serious form of gender based violence, which should be criminalised and eradicated.  For this, not just laws are required but also role models to set the example from the top and become strong advocates against dowry.