The bill was moved by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) member of the National Assembly, Sharmila Faruqui, in the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior, chaired by MNA Raja Khurram Nawaz.
The proposed law aimed to criminalize dowry practices and suggested punishments for violations. It also allowed parents to give voluntary gifts if they wished.
Despite this clause, committee members unanimously opposed the bill, saying it could not be implemented effectively. Confirming the decision, Sharmila Faruqui said the discussion reflected encouragement rather than restraint of dowry practices.
In a post on X, she wrote, “Dowry is not a culture. It is coercion. The state must stand with women, not normalize a practice that commodifies them.”
Today, the Standing Committee on Interior rejected my Dowry Restraint Bill.
— Dr. Sharmila Sahibah Faruqui (Phd) s.i (@sharmilafaruqi) December 23, 2025
Disturbingly, the discussion reflected encouragement rather than restraint of dowry.
Dowry is not culture. It is coercion.
The state must stand with women, not normalize a practice that commodifies them.…
She added that choosing dowry meant choosing patriarchy over dignity, and vowed that her struggle to end dowry was far from over. The debate comes amid growing legal attention on women’s rights. In July, the Supreme Court (SC) declared denying dowry or maintenance to a woman on the grounds of infertility illegal.
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Chief Justice Yahya Afridi strongly criticized the practice, saying courts often become places where women are humiliated under the cover of litigation.
Earlier, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) suggested changes to dowry laws, including increasing punishment from six months to up to one year in jail. The CII also proposed raising the dowry limit from Rs 5,000 to two tolas of gold, and increasing marriage expenses from Rs 2,500 to an amount equal to the same value of gold.
