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Money is the Root of All Evil: Modern-Day Dowries in South Asian International Arranged Marriages

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Book cover Psychology of Gender Through the Lens of Culture

Abstract

Laws introduced in South Asia banning the exchange of a bride price in arranged marriages led to a rise in implicit dowries, with marriage partners giving the dowry being maltreated and abandoned. Current bride shortages in South Asia are contributing to more families seeking partners for their sons from North America. This multiple case study investigated dowry manifestations and the relationship between gender and dowry-related victimization through interviews with 30 South Asian Canadians who were abandoned by their partners after having international arranged marriages, and focus groups with 27 cultural insiders. Women were vulnerable to unique dowry-related abuse combined with marriages for immigration, whereas men were vulnerable to dowry fraud. Implications for public education and community policing are discussed.

This research was funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Metropolis Grant from the Prairie Metropolis Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration, Integration, and Diversity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, 6-102 Education Centre North, T6G 2G5, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Dr. Noorfarah Merali

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  1. Dr. Noorfarah Merali
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Correspondence to Noorfarah Merali .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    Saba Safdar

  2. University of Gdansk Institute of Psychology, Gdansk, Poland

    Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka

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Merali, N. (2015). Money is the Root of All Evil: Modern-Day Dowries in South Asian International Arranged Marriages. In: Safdar, S., Kosakowska-Berezecka, N. (eds) Psychology of Gender Through the Lens of Culture. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14005-6_3

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