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Sources

A Brave Couple Shuns Pakistan's Antiquated Wedding Dowry

Khushboo Rafiiq, her husband Usman and theirs friends
Khushboo Rafiiq, her husband Usman and theirs friends
Naeem Sahoutara

KARACHI — Khushboo Rafiq is the first person in her family not to pay a dowry, or bride price, to her husband Usman's family.

Khushboo works for an organization that advocates women's rights. It was very important to her that her wedding represents the ideals and convictions on which she spends her professional efforts."

We used the wedding invitation to tell guests they should not bring any gifts," she says. "We also made it very clear that no dowry was being paid. We also are donating our wedding dress to a charity for another couple to use in the future."

She says that though the practice is illegal in the country, most of her friends' families pay dowries to their prospective husbands.

"My cousin's marriage cost them $1,000 in dowry," she says. "But I categorically refused to follow obsolete traditions like a huge dowry, expensive jewelry and a lavish feast. My friends said it would be a miracle if my in-laws accepted my demands. But they did."

Though it is common practice, giving a dowry exceeding $50 is an offense under Pakistan's Dowry and Bridal Gifts Act, passed in 1976.

Other legalities imposed on weddings are also often ignored. For example, according to custom, there should only be one dish served at the wedding feast. Though breaking the law can lead to six months in jail, doing otherwise is deeply ingrained in the Pakistani culture.

Zakia Sultana, the bride's mother, says many of the guests are amazed that their family has decided to follow the law. "This wedding is the topic of discussion at today’s gathering," she says. "I faced opposition from my family and friends, who said a marriage cannot be performed without a dowry. Later, they agreed. Things are starting to change, and people will follow this example."

Because of the traditional dowry system, many middle-class young women don't get married because their parents cannot afford it. Thousands of others face emotional and physical torture at the hands of their in-laws, often because they are dissatisfied with the dowry. Many women are kicked out of their homes and divorced by their husbands.

Hina Mujeeb is employed at the same organization as the bride, and is working to end the practice. "The custom of dowry is brutal," Mujeeb says. "Some parents have to sell their houses or get loans to arrange the dowry. To change the mindset, we have formed this group. We will not accept or pay a dowry. That's the way we want to create change.”

Zahid Ghani, the groom's brother, agrees. "There are some people who are not happy with today's wedding," he says. "But this has not stopped us. Asking for the dowry is just like bargaining in the market for goods. My wife's parents have already raised their daughters and paid for her education. I can't ask for more."

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Geopolitics

Senegal's Democratic Unrest And The Ghosts Of French Colonialism

The violence that erupted following the sentencing of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison left 16 people dead and 500 arrested. This reveals deep fractures in Senegalese democracy that has traces to France's colonial past.

Image of Senegalese ​Protesters celebrating Sonko being set free by the court, March 2021

Protesters celebrate Sonko being set free by the court, March 2021

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

PARIS — For a long time, Senegal had the glowing image of one of Africa's rare democracies. The reality was more complicated than that, even in the days of the poet-president Léopold Sedar Senghor, who also had his dark side.

But for years, the country has been moving down what Senegalese intellectual Felwine Sarr describes as the "gentle slope of... the weakening and corrosion of the gains of Senegalese democracy."

This has been demonstrated once again over the last few days, with a wave of violence that has left 16 people dead, 500 arrested, the internet censored, and a tense situation with troubling consequences. The trigger? The sentencing last Thursday of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison, which could exclude him from the 2024 presidential elections.

Young people took to the streets when the verdict was announced, accusing the justice system of having become a political tool. Ousmane Sonko had been accused of rape but was convicted of "corruption of youth," a change that rendered the decision incomprehensible.

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