The recent rejection of a bill seeking to outlaw dowry by a National Assembly standing committee has ignited a crucial national debate. The bill, presented by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Dr. Sharmila Farooqui, was declared "unworkable" by the committee. This decision is more than a procedural hurdle; it reveals a deep-seated reluctance to legislate against harmful social traditions disguised as cultural values.
The Core of the Controversy: When Gifts Become Coercion
Dowry is frequently defended as a voluntary exchange of gifts between families. However, this argument collapses under the weight of expectation, negotiation, and social pressure. When a "gift" transforms into a demand, it becomes a form of gender-based violence, specifically targeting women. It commercializes marriage, reducing women to financial transactions where their families must compensate the groom's family.
The institution of dowry devalues women from birth, or even from the moment an ultrasound reveals a female fetus. The rejected bill aimed to formally name and criminalize this pervasive reality. Its dismissal reinforces a troubling pattern: laws that challenge structural inequality face impossibly high scrutiny, while laws preserving the status quo pass easily.
Beyond Setback: A Call for Political Maturity and Action
This disappointment, however, must not be seen as a final defeat. Legislative processes are designed for refinement. Legitimate concerns about definitions, safeguards against misuse, and implementation mechanisms can be addressed through evidence and consultation in parliamentary committees. Their role is to improve legislation, not to silence necessary debate by labeling reform as inconvenient.
This moment demands political maturity and collective responsibility. Women parliamentarians across all party lines, particularly through the Women Parliamentary Caucus, must unite for sustained advocacy. Dowry is not a partisan issue; it is a matter of human dignity, consent, mental health, and economic justice. A revised bill, backed by cross-party ownership, would demonstrate that resistance cannot derail essential reform.
The Ripple Effects of a Potential Law
The benefits of enacting a strong anti-dowry law are profound. Challenging dowry dismantles the dangerous notion that daughters are a liability to be "compensated" for at marriage, which would, in turn, strengthen the enforcement of inheritance laws for women. It also supports efforts to end child marriage, a practice often driven by dowry-related economic pressures.
Furthermore, such a law would set a clear national benchmark, encouraging provincial assemblies to enact aligned legislation rather than allowing a patchwork of uneven reforms. An uncomfortable truth also surfaces: many parliamentarians vote on bills they have not fully read or understood. This erodes public trust and reduces law-making to mere symbolism. There is an urgent need for informed legislative engagement, possibly through structured literacy programs for elected representatives.
The author, drawing on over three decades of work on gender justice across Pakistan and personal experience as a survivor of gender-based violence, including dowry abuse, emphasizes that harmful practices become normalized when unchallenged. The rejection of this bill is part of that resistance. However, the national conversation has undeniably shifted. The question is no longer if dowry causes damage, but whether the state possesses the courage to confront it through law, policy, and unwavering political will.
Bills can be revised. Coalitions can be built. Social norms can be changed. What is unacceptable is continued legislative indifference to a practice that extracts its highest cost from women, their families, and the very moral fabric of society. This debate is far from over.
