I had the wrong idea about dowry before I went to India.
I thought it was to help the newly weds start out.
The dowry instead goes to the parents of the groom.
And if the Dowry is not good enough what kind of husbands do these girls get?
It is a bizzare custom!
Ms. Casey's Daughter
Islam has it going the other way, with a "bride price" being paid to the father of the bride. Since this is often paid in advance, it explains a lot of the rage that some Muslim fathers feel when their (already paid for) daughter refuses to marry the guy arranged for her
yeah - it's the payoff for providing daughter a husband.