The Practices of Mahr in Muslim Marriage among Rural Areas: A Study on Chapai Nawabganj District in Bangladesh

This study aims to assess the practices of giving mahr in Muslim marriage in the study area, explore the perception towards mahr among both male and female respondents, and examine whether the practice of mahr provides rural women with economic security after the death of husbands or termination of marriage by divorce. The present study adopts a qualitative research approach. In-depth interviews are undertaken to collect data in this research work. Thirty-five in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data in this study (both from married male and female interviewees). The study findings show that in rural areas, both male (husband) and female (wife) have the idea of mahr, though some have misconceptions about the concept. Many interviewees mention that it is the right of a wife, but the majority of them have no zeal to give or demand this exigent issue. Though many female interviewees also mentioned that mahr is solely the wife’s right, they also do not express seriousness about the demand for their mahr. There are some causes behind this attitude. The present findings denote that in rural areas, sometimes it is seen that the fixation of mahr is a susceptible matter, leading to marriage annulment. In the context of mahr’s paying practices in rural areas, many husbands think that they bear all the necessities of their wives, so mahr is a less important issue than the maintenance of the wife. It becomes a trend that only a tiny amount of mahr is paid on the wedding day, while an ample rest remains unpaid for most of the couple’s life. It becomes a closed chapter in the marital life. While any wife sought her mahr, it became a matter of discord in the family. In addition, many husbands become angry for demanding the mahr. One common question is trust, which arises when demanding mahr from their husband; on top of that, most husbands in the rural areas mentioned that what is urgent mahr is that they are not flying away anywhere from their wives; today or tomorrow, the mahr will be paid- it is a typical dialogue among the rural husbands. Though many husbands do not give or pay the total amount of mahr, those women get mahr; it might be a small amount of the total amount since the ownership pattern is disappointing. After giving money, land, or jewelry to the wife, the husband and mother-in-law offer strict surveillance on those things. In those cases, wives also give back to their husbands. In this situation, almost all wives give back to keep peace in the family. Some of them also use one common sentence, and that is “By asking mahr or without giving back the mahr money, will I create trouble in my own family, am I so stupid?†– this line indicates the image of mahr in rural society. Mahr gives socio-economic security, while in the rural area, the majority of wives do not think or are serious about it. Many of them think it is security money but practice only a few. On the other hand, husbands also think the same idea but are not eager to pay the mahr. However, some wives are using the money to increase their financial condition. Though someone pays his mahr, in the majority of cases, there is a scenario of unwillingness rather than free of mind, which is ordered by Islam. Divorce women demand their full mahr and try to collect the total amount but face some obstacles. Because, in most cases, at the time of marriage termination, the husband starts different types of dilly-dallying to pay mahr elsewhere all widow remission of their mahr after the death of their husband. They do not raise any voice for mahr due to the causes of obloquy and emotion towards their husbands.