TY - JOUR PY - 2006// TI - Dowry in Bangladesh: Compromizing Women's Rights JO - South Asia research A1 - Huda, Shahnaz SP - 249 EP - 268 VL - 26 IS - 3 N2 - Marriage negotiations for Bangladeshi Muslims involve various financial transactions including primarily the religiously sanctioned dower (mahr). Added to mahr, the practice of dowry or joutuk, demands made by the husband's side to the bride's side, have in the last few decades become a widespread practice supported neither by state law nor personal laws, but apparently designed to strengthen traditional patriarchal assumptions. Based on detailed fieldwork, this article discusses the historical assimilation of dowry practices in Bangladesh, including debates regarding its social ramifications on women's rights in Bangladesh, linked now to growing evidence of dowry-related violence. The existing dowry practices, despite legal intervention, continue to compromise women's rights in Bangladesh.

LA - SN - 0262-7280 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0262728006071707 ID - ref1 ER -