> In the nineteen-twenties, dowry payments occurred in about a third of marriages. By 2008, they were near-universal in rural areas, and many regions had seen a

> In the nineteen-twenties, dowry payments occurred in about a third of marriages. By 2008, they were near-universal in rural areas, and many regions had seen alarming rates of dowry inflation. > The expansion of dowry coincides with other worrying changes. Rates of sex-selective abortion appear to have increased in almost all states between 1981 and 2016, especially among wealthy and educated women. > The payment of dowry, which was expected to die out with modernization, provides a telling example. In Europe, marriage payments mostly disappeared with industrialization Abortion/family planning for the wealthy and sophisticated, dowry for the poor. National and international. Highly industrialized countries no longer need as many children to work the farm, since they can exploit their colonies and machines. Poorer countries have an extra incentive to create male dominated jobs as human farm/factory equipment foisted on their economy that traditional structures become ugly as they bear. Exploited men exploit women. Being exploited may be lucrative way to make USD, but it's not good for your culture. There definitely are better and worse among traditional system of inheritance/dowry/brideprice, but I don't feel like dowry is the main thing at play here.