Zainab Fayaz, a 20 year old social activists, Girls wing President Kashmir Youth Web & Youth For Drug Free Kashmir, just like many other girls wants reform in the society. She quotes, “Dowry is prevalent, so much so that it has been normalized, people think it’s the first step of the marriage process and very few people think it’s an issue that’s worth a full fledged discussion.”
She further adds, it’s the poor girls who get to face the cons of dowry while some who are in blessed positions or simply who are rich don’t find any problem with it but need of the hour is recognizing thae fact that demand for dowry shouldn’t be acceptable, regardless of your status. The concept of dowry is not religious but cultural. No religion promotes things that burden someone. She gives a special reference of Islam by saying that in Islam there’s no place for dowry. It’s just a modern marriage tradition which has to end from the roots and if this cause is given the right direction, it can end as easily as it spread.
Also, she believes that the people who created the fashion of dowry system in the name of nothing have in a way put a tremendous amount of pressure on the shoulders of the upcoming generations. We are the people who are paying a huge prize for the decision that was made in the past and therefore we should be the ones to revise.
Nikkah is something that was taught to us by our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. That’s the only solution to get out of this terrible problem alongside with recognizing that it does no good to anyone. All that’s required for sustaining marriage is two people who are to good to each other.
Rightly said by Percy Bysshe Shelly,”The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, h is getting rich.” But has anyone ever wondered why? It’s because of these things. Things like dowry, not giving proper wages, thinking poor people deserve less and the list goes on. When you live at a place where people aren’t on the same level, it’s a duty of every person to get together and take care of the sentiments and deal with everything in a way that befits both the parties involved.
It comes to me as a surprise that despite having Dowry Prohibition Act, an Indian law which was enacted on May 1, 1961 to prevent the giving or receiving of a dowry, people have the audacity to ask for dowry. This act not only teaches us to not ask for dowry but also gives us the idea that giving dowry is in itself a problem in the society. Some families give dowry because they fear that their daughter won’t get any other match but isn’t it better to not marry anyone than marrying someone who has a mentality as dead as that?
Some other things problems that need to be addressed are taking up the complaints against the public transport. She says, usage of public transport in Kashmir has become a total hell for the girls. They face a lot of harasment & teasing, she has herself been a victim and wants action against it.
