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Book Review

Dowry practice in rural Bangladesh

Mohammad Abu Taher
IN Bangladesh,dowry is a pattern of marriage payments settled openly or discreetly mostly before the wedding.
The practice of the payment of dowry during marriage has developed in the society mainly in the 1970s. In course of time, this social evil has become endemic which is seriously affecting the lives of married women. In her well written book titled "Crime or Custom? Dowry Practice in Rural Bangladesh", Shahan Nasrin, a Sociologist at the University of Dhaka, has made an attempt to address the reasons behind the prevalent practice of dowry in Bangladesh.
In this book, Nasrin's findings are based on both theoretical analysis as well as data gathered from fieldwork conducted
in Natore district, one of the northern regions of Bangladesh. The chapter four of the book highlights the theoretical aspects of the practice of dowry whereas chapter five describes the reasons as the author found in her field work. On the whole, the author depicts a number of reasons behind the practice of dowry such as, hypergamy, security of daughters, social obligation etc. In her book, Nasrin reassesses these reasons combining archival research with her field experience.
Nasrin argues that by considering the security and welfare of daughters, the parents often pay dowry willingly. However, this argument may not work in case of rich parents who pay huge amount of money as dowry in their daughters' marriage. Thus, all these reasons indicate that the practice of dowry is, somehow, acceptable by the community.
Therefore, a social problem like dowry is difficult to deter by the official legislations. The author mentions that every year a number of women become the victims of violence due to dowry and it is one of the major causes of domestic violence in Bangladesh. To prevent the practice of dowry and violence related to it, the Government of Bangladesh enacted the anti-dowry laws.
In chapter seven of the book, Nasrin analyses the effectiveness of the legal strategies. She focuses on the impediments of enforcing the dowry prohibition laws. According to the author, the number of violence is not decreasing although the law was enacted more than three decades ago. The author identifies a number of reasons for non-enforcing the dowry prohibition laws effectively. To identify the impediments, she talked to the members of law enforcing agencies particularly with the lawyers. She holds that the "judiciary in Bangladesh is generally hindered by a backlog of cases which of course also hinders justice in dowry cases" (p.80). Apart from this, the other reasons are inherent flaws of laws, lack of evidence, misuse of law, and negative attitudes of law enforcing agencies etc. Along with these reasons, the author correctly indicates the social barrier as a factor in implementing the laws properly.
Even though sometimes dauntingly complex, Nasrin's arguments behind the practice of dowry and the effectiveness of anti-dowry laws are persuasive as well as convincing. She has written her book in such clear and jargon-free English that even non-academic readers can understand and follow the arguments of this book. With this, Nasrin has tried to highlight in her book that, although the practice of dowry evolved as a custom at marriage, however, it has turned into a crime in course of time. This well- written book should be read by all persons seeking to understand the problem of dowry in the society of Bangladesh.
THEREVI6WERISFHDCANOIOATS,.FACULTY.OELAW, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA, MALAYSIA.