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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: dowry

dowry stories: 8 news summaries

 In Rural India, Mr Right 
 Must Have a Toilet 

Brides-to-be insist suitors offer indoor plumbing

Oct 12, 09 7:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - India's economy may be booming, but 665 million people in the world's second-largest nation have no access to indoor plumbing—not only an inconvenience, but a health hazard that leads to diarrhea, typhoid, and malaria. But these days, newly assertive rural women are insisting that suitors have a toilet before... More »

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India • marriage • toilet • dowry • latrines • marriage proposal

Kenyan to Chelsea: Marry Me, Get Free Livestock

Man renews dowry
offer first made in 2000

Aug 9, 09 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hoping for Chelsea Clinton’s hand in marriage, a Kenyan man offered a dowry of 40 goats and 20 cows in 2000. Now, he's renewing the offer and America's top diplomat mom has gotten involved: “She's very independent," responded Hillary Clinton, asked about the offer, at a Nairobi... More »

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Hillary Clinton • Kenya • marriage • cows • Chelsea Clinton • goats • dowry • women's issues

Saudis to Crack Down After Man Weds 8-Year-Old

Child marriages will be 'regulated'; no evidence they'll be barred

Apr 15, 09 8:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Amid an uproar over an adult man’s marriage to an 8-year-old girl, Saudi Arabia will begin regulating child marriage, the BBC reports. The country’s justice minister wants to end the “arbitrary” process, he said, though he didn’t say such matches would be banned. A court upheld... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saudi Arabia • women's rights • marriage • children • arranged marriage • forced marriage • dowry • child brides

Cops Bust Dad Who Married Off Girl, 14, for Beer

Arranged marriage legit in Mexico, but trafficking minors in Calif.

Jan 14, 09 6:24 AM CST
(Newser) - Something got lost in translation when a California man arranged for his 14-year-old daughter to marry an 18-year-old neighbor in exchange for cash, beer, and meat, reports the San Jose Mercury News. When the bridegroom failed to pay the promised $16,000, 160 cases of beer, and six cases... More »

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California • arranged marriage • human trafficking • juvenile • dowry • Mexican-Americans

 Saudi Girl, 8, Can't 
 Divorce Husband, 58: Court 

Case must wait until girl hits puberty; she still lives with mother

Dec 22, 08 2:10 PM CST
(Newser) - An 8-year-old Saudi girl will remain married to her 58-year-old husband after a court struck down her mother’s request for a divorce, the Daily Mail reports. The hard-up father, who is divorced from the mother, signed a contract in August and received a dowry of about $7,400. The... More »

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Saudi Arabia • divorce • Islamic Sharia law • court • arranged marriage • dowry • minor • marriage contract

More Afghan Families Using Girls to Pay Debt

Farmers hit by crop woes give daughters
as 'opium brides'

Mar 30, 08 6:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Besieged by debt, more Afghan farmers are paying lenders by handing over their girls as "loan brides," Newsweek reports. Often taken from their families forever, the girls—some younger than 5 years old—are commonly beaten or pushed to suicide by their fate. "My heart is still... More »

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Afghanistan • War on Drugs • drugs • marriage • debt • opium • poppies • arranged marriage • dowry

India Will Pay Families for Daughters

Incentives for raising girls aim to correct skewed sex ratio

Mar 4, 08 2:10 PM CST
(Newser) - India will start handing out cash to families in return for raising daughters, reports AFP. The culture's preference for sons results in sex-selection abortions, which are illegal but have skewed the country's sex ratio. Poor families with girls in states with the worst sex ratios will receive a series of... More »

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abortion • India • children • dowry • sex ratio • cultural preference for male children • sex-selective abortion

Iranian Owes Wife 124K Roses

'Stingy' husband needs to make good on dowry

Mar 3, 08 4:25 PM CST
(Newser) - There is something worse than forgetting Valentine's Day—being a tightfisted husband. An Iranian court has ordered a man to immediately send his wife 124,000 roses or risk imprisonment, the BBC reports. The roses were promised to his wife as part of her dowry, which she can legally claim... More »

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Iran • roses • dowry • stingy • Iranian court

8 Stories


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