Editing Sex-selective abortion (section)

==== Dowry ====
[[File:Say no to dowry.jpg|thumb|A social awareness campaign in India against dowries]]
{{Further|Dowry system in India}}
[[File:India - Delhi wedding - 5438.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Wedding gifts for the son of the Imam of Delhi, India, with soldiers and 2000 guests. Large dowries are expected among several populations in South Asia, especially in India and Pakistan.]]
[[Dowry]] is the property that parents of a female transfer at her marriage. Dowry is an ancient practice, that has been common in many cultures around the world, and which is today prevalent especially in South Asia. The custom of dowry is most common in cultures that are strongly [[patrilineal]] and that expect women to reside with or near their husband's family ([[patrilocality]]).<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/dowry| title=Dowry &#124; marriage custom| date=June 30, 2023| access-date=March 1, 2017| archive-date=July 19, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719020111/https://www.britannica.com/topic/dowry| url-status=live}}</ref>

Kirti Singh states that dowry is widely considered to be both a cause and a consequence of son preference, and this may lead to girls being unwanted, sex selective abortion, [[female infanticide]] or abuse of female children.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://india.unfpa.org/drive/LawsandSonPreferenceinIndia.pdf |title=Laws and son preference in India: a reality check |website=india.unfpa.org |access-date=January 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313094849/http://india.unfpa.org/drive/LawsandSonPreferenceinIndia.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[dowry system in India]] is a major part of [[Indian culture]] and refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride's family gives to the bridegroom, his parents, or his relatives as a condition of the marriage.<ref name="Jethmalani_1995">{{cite book|title = Dowry Deaths and Access to Justice in Kali's Yug: Empowerment, Law and Dowry Deaths| vauthors = Jethmalani R, Dey PK |year = 1995|pages = 36, 38}}</ref> Dowry consists of a payment in cash or some kind of gifts given to the bridegroom's family along with the bride and includes cash, jewelry, electrical appliances, furniture, bedding, crockery, utensils and other household items that help the newlyweds set up their home.<ref name="Diwan_1997">{{cite book|title = Law Relating to Dowry, Dowry Deaths, Bride Burning, Rape, and Related Offences| vauthors = Diwan P, Diwan P |publisher = Universal Law Pub. Co.|year = 1997|location = Delhi|pages = 10}}</ref> Disputes regarding dowry sometimes lead to [[dowry death]]s.