If Women Want Equality, Why Do They Accept Dowries?

The phrase "who has given and who has received the dowry" is a well-known saying. Nevertheless, prisons in Iran are filled with those convicted over dowries. Proponents of dowries view it as a gift from the man to the woman at marriage, arguing that considering all the inequalities women face in Iranian laws, a dowry can serve as a leverage or a reserve for emergencies. Critics, however, ask why women do not seek equal rights instead of demanding dowries. They see dowries as a form of buying and selling women and argue that women should pursue economic independence and equal rights between men and women instead of being entangled in dowries. In this program of Taboo, Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, a women's rights activist, and Zhila Mohaddeshari'atpanahi, a Quran researcher and women's rights activist, discuss this topic. Abbasgholizadeh states that dowries have become a tool to evaluate a woman's family background, education, and beauty, creating a class-based evaluation system. She believes dowries set an unhealthy foundation for equal families and should be reconsidered. Mohaddeshari'atpanahi defends dowries as romantic gifts, likening them to engagement rings in the West, and argues that they should not be conflated with divorce issues. The discussion highlights the contrasting views on dowries and their implications for women's rights and societal norms in Iran.