I feel that dowry is a bane to our society. Other cultures also have/had similar customs, and it is disgusting. However, I know that a lot of girls also feel that it is their parents moral obligation to support and pay for their marriages in the most lavish manner possible. I know girls here in the US, that insist on dresses/clothing that is outrageously expensive. Indian girls seem to be on the same trend. I know of an Indian girl whose parents had to sell their house to get her married and then her husband divorced her because he got involved with another woman - she did not get a penny back, because all that expenditure from her parents side was classified as "voluntary expenditure on marriage ritual" - what a bunch of nonsense!!!
Dowry has been abolished, so now all these frivolous expenditures seem to be compensating for this behavior. I really dont understand why it is a social stigma (rather perceived to be so) to have a simple wedding! Makes me so mad when i hear about this kind of stuff... 😡