If he had been governor of the Punjab, their dowries would have beggared him.

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The law would ban forced marriages and dowries, and boost women's protection against domestic violence.

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Despite the shortage of brides, Urmila says that dowries have risen, not fallen.

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" In a modern touch, Mallen's character sweetly advises traditionalist Mary Kate that, "Dowries aren't important in this day and age.

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Girls, he says, run away because their parents cannot afford dowries to get them married, and they don't want to be a burden to their families anymore.

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Rather, as Indians grow wealthier, dowries are getting more lavish and are spreading to places where they were once rare, such as in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, in the south.

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The UAE's Marriage Fund was set up six years ago to try to reverse the practise of Emirati men marrying foreign brides because they could not afford the exorbitant dowries expected of them.

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Girls join their husbands' families, and need dowries.

ECONOMIST: A shortage of girls will haunt India for decades

One measure is the practice of giving dowries.

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