Good argument for abolishing the dowry system. Though my father has opined that the tradition of a bride’s parents paying for her wedding is a form of dowry.
“Though my father has opined that the tradition of a bride’s parents paying for her wedding is a form of dowry.”
I agree with him, but it isn’t five years’ pay. That practice is slowly disappearing here in the northeast, where weddings can run $30K for what many (here) would consider an average wedding. Oftentimes, with people I know, the brides’ parents put up something, and let the couple determine how to spend it in terms of what kind of wedding they want.
India also is a little different in that often the sons (and their wives) rather than the daughters care for their parents later in life.