Dowry, Women, and Law in Bangladesh

Dowry increased with the expansion of capitalist relations that help capital accumulation by men in Bangladesh. It has been turned into ‘demand, extortion, material gain, and profit maximization’. The most common motives behind the dowry system are the grooms’ and their families’ greed, growing consumerism, excessive materialism, the need for status seeking, and rising expectations of a better and luxurious life. The dowry system has shifted as a result of women's increasing paid labour force activity. In most of the cases, husbands or in-laws control and appropriate women's income. Husbands consider their wives’ income as a source of wealth accumulation. This must be acknowledged as reality and the Dowry Prohibition Act amended. In this article I argue that appropriation of…