At all events...

At all events, after the fixed time expired and they provided a decent marriage portion, they could easily get married and this smut did not have the least effect on their social position nor did it ruin their chance of getting married.[^5] Or in countries like India, violence against women has been intense in the recent years. Indian brides are savagely slaughtered by the groom’s parents for lack of a suitable marriage portion.

It seems that in this country a marriage portion is a levy, which the bride’s family must pay to the groom.

It might be asserted that the philosophy of a marriage portion is manifold: It helped a new husband discharge the responsibilities that go with marriage; it made possible for the bride to have economic independence: it made up the girl’s meager share in succession or the inheritance of her parents’ landed property (the girls’ share is half of the boys’) and most importantly, it consolidated friendship and created a spirit of cooperation between the two families.[^6] A marriage portion either belongs to the bride or it is given to her by her family.

Though the woman may entrust her marriage portion to her husband or to her future mutual children, the husband does not have the right to apportion them but rather he has the right to use them in a reasonable fashion, for legally speaking, a marriage portion is a wife’s private property.

The bride’s family tries to enhance the desirability of their daughter for marriage by providing her with a suitable marriage portion in proportion to their economic power although no article exists in law which necessitates the provision of a marriage portion. Although the women are the owners of their property and that the husbands have no right to them, the women, in principle, entrust their property to their family and never make any mention of them.

Assuredly, while the mutual life proceeds on the basis of love, friendship and morality, there is hardly any mention of these assets. However, when the foundation of family is shaken, the first problem is how to distribute the assets. The time when one comes to ask what women’s rights are and what assets belong to them, one has to prove women’s claim to property. In some countries, they usually make a list of the assets, and have the groom and his family sign it.

However, such an act may be considered an insult to the groom, and an indication of misrust.