A Price on Her Life: Dowry, Violence Against Women and the Need for a Legal Ban in Pakistan

A woman should not have to bring gold, furniture, a car or a house into a marriage to be treated with dignity. Yet, in too many families, a bride’s worth is measured by what she brings with her. What begins as a wedding custom can become a financial demand, and what begins as a demand can turn into humiliation, abuse and even death.

When a woman is taunted because her parents cannot afford expensive gifts, or when her family is forced into debt to satisfy her in-laws, we must stop calling it tradition. It is coercion. When that coercion leads to violence, it is a matter of public justice, not a private family dispute.

Pakistan has attempted to regulate dowry for decades. The West Pakistan Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act, 1967, was an early legislative effort. It was followed by the Dowry and Bridal Gifts (Restriction) Act, 1976, which repealed the earlier legislation and established a framework across Pakistan. Amended in 1980, the law restricted dowry, bridal gifts and marriage expenditure. Section 5 provides that dowry and bridal gifts given to the bride vest absolutely in her. Yet, decades later, the expectation that a bride’s family must provide wealth to secure a marriage remains deeply entrenched.

The problem is not simply that the law has failed to regulate wedding expenditure. It is that regulation has not dismantled the belief that a woman’s family owes the groom’s family a financial contribution. Pakistan must ask whether anyone should be allowed to demand wealth as a condition of marriage.

The religious argument is equally important because dowry is often defended in the name of culture, family honour and tradition. But culture and religion are not interchangeable. A practice does not become Islamic merely because society has accepted it.

Surah An-Nisa, verse 4:4, directs men to give women their mahr graciously. Mahr is the woman’s marital entitlement, payable by her husband. It belongs to her. Jahez, by contrast, is property traditionally provided by the bride’s family. The Qur’an establishes a woman’s right to receive her marital entitlement; it does not establish a right for the groom or his family to demand vehicles, jewellery, furniture or cash from her parents.

A family may freely give its daughter gifts out of love. That is different from being compelled to provide them because the marriage will otherwise be threatened or rejected. There is no religious justification for humiliating, threatening or assaulting a woman because her parents cannot meet financial demands.

There is another injustice that deserves attention: the relationship between dowry and women’s inheritance rights. In some families, wedding gifts are treated as a substitute for a daughter’s share of her parents’ property. Instead of giving her land, a house or other assets to which she is entitled, families provide furniture and jewellery, sometimes expecting her to accept these goods as her final claim on family wealth.

Behind this practice lies a troubling assumption: once a daughter marries, her inheritance should remain within her parental family because she will take that wealth into another household. Her brother may inherit land and property that appreciate in value, while she receives goods that depreciate, are consumed or may be taken away by her in-laws.

This contradicts the principles of Islamic inheritance. Surah An-Nisa, verse 4:7, recognises the entitlement of both men and women to shares in the property left by their parents and relatives. A daughter’s inheritance is not a favour that her family may replace with wedding gifts at its discretion. Dowry and inheritance are separate matters, and marriage does not erase a woman’s right to inherit.

When a woman is denied her inheritance and expected to depend on dowry, she loses more than property. She loses financial independence and security if her marriage becomes abusive or breaks down. A society cannot claim to honour its daughters through wedding gifts while denying them their rightful share of family wealth.

Violence against women in Pakistan remains a serious concern. Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2026 documents continuing violence against women and girls, including domestic violence and murder. Although these findings do not establish how much violence is specifically attributable to dowry, they highlight the wider threats women face.

Dowry-related abuse must be understood within this context. Repeated financial demands can become instruments of control. Women may face harassment, threats of abandonment and physical violence because their families cannot provide what is demanded. Parents, meanwhile, may sell property or incur debt out of fear that their daughters will suffer if they refuse.

Pakistan’s existing legislation should be a starting point for reform, not an excuse for inaction. The law must move towards a comprehensive prohibition on coercive dowry demands, including those made after marriage. Women need effective remedies against financial coercion, harassment and violence, while their property rights must be enforced. Police and protection services must treat these cases seriously rather than dismissing them as private family disagreements.

The prohibition must distinguish coercion from freely given gifts. The objective is not to police affection but to end the use of money and property as instruments of control. Inheritance rights must also be protected independently of wedding expenditure. A daughter should never be told that a trousseau is a substitute for the property she is legally entitled to inherit.

Pakistan has had dowry restriction legislation since 1976. It is time to move beyond regulating the practice while leaving its underlying social expectations largely intact. Parliament and the relevant provincial authorities must establish an effective prohibition on coercive dowry demands, alongside stronger enforcement of women’s inheritance rights and meaningful protection against abuse.

Mahr is the woman’s right, not a debt owed by her parents to the groom’s family. Her inheritance is also her right, not a favour that can be withdrawn because she marries.

A woman’s safety must never depend on her family’s bank balance. Her inheritance is not a wedding gift, her dignity is not negotiable, and her life must never become the price of a wedding.