A standing committee of the National Assembly has rejected a bill seeking ban on dowry, saying it is “impractical”, the private media channel reported on Tuesday.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Sharmila Farooqi presented the bill in the NA’s Standing Committee meeting. MNA Raja Khurram Nawaz was leading the huddle.
The aim of the proposed legislation was to criminalise dowry practices in society. However, it was mentioned in the bill that parents can voluntarily give gifts.
The bill failed as all committee members declared it “impractical.”
Senior PPP leader, Sharmila Farooqi, wrote on X, ”Today, the Standing Committee on Interior rejected my Dowry Restraint Bill. Disturbingly, the discussion reflected encouragement rather than restraint of dowry.”
She further said in her tweet, “Dowry is not culture. It is coercion. The state must stand with women, not normalise a practice that commodifies them. A society that protects dowry chooses patriarchy over dignity. This fight is far from over.”
