Dowry has completely lost meaning in today’s society and it should be discontinued alongside other useless customs like FGM, removal of 6 teeth, etc
There is a stark difference between when it was applicable and now when it is not.
Long ago dowry was paid in cattle, food was in abundance, there was no rent, no buying electricity tokens, no water bills, no ‘bus fare’, no cooking gas, etc. Therefore, there were no implications after giving ‘a few cows’, or all your cows for that matter as dowry.
You would still eat, sleep and live comfortably, stress free.
These days, money is a precondition for even the most basic of things. Money, unlike livestock, is damn scarce.
It is therefore extremely unethical to make it obligatory for the chief provider of the house, who is already bombarded and struggling with bills, to pay roughly Ksh.500 sausans in bride price. This is sheer madness. Remember the beneficiaries of the cash are old folks who don’t even really need the money or have little use for it.
This foolishness must be stopped immediately. Furthermore uliskia nani kwa bibilia amelipa mahari? Other than Jacob, the equivalent of a modern day beta male who offered to work in order to get his wife… So this shit isn’t even religious
Unaongea ukweli but Kuna ka kitu umedanganya. Those old folks ukiwaangalia hawana pesa mzuri. Dowry for them is a means of kukafunga. Na lazima they’ll mint a gullible man. But yeah dowry ni upuzi mimi husema if it comes to it I’ll just give sth small that naona is worth or maybe help out kitu kidogo kama kuweka fence pahali. But si ushenzi ya kulipa 1 million in cash.
I will organise a large party we all eat and drink and get to know each other well then everybody goes back to his/her life. Hakuna kutajirisha watu na jasho langu. Dowry is a scam in this era of modernity and Christianity. Just like FGM or sacrificing goats under mugumo trees.
I usually support the in-laws every month or two with some token for shopping. The minute I pay the dowry after saving and being harassed by the greedy wazees and wamama, I will cut hio monthly handout.
Na kusema ukweli, Men pay dowry and go ahead to support the wife bila usaidizi. I imagine my wife has never paid rent for the last decade and yet she is still earning. If i only pay 10k monthly rent, that is 120k per year and 1.2 million in 10 years. No different from the insurance policy tunauziwa kwa hizi streets.
Getting married is like securing a free insurance cover for the lady. And what does the man get…only puthi and stress!
The law has not said that dowry or bride price is mandatory, it only states that if you pursue a Customary Marriage then you should follow customary laws.
There are 5 types of marriages under Kenyan law : Civil, Christian, Customary, Hindu and Islamic.
If you choose to pursue Civil Marriage for instance, the cost is only 600 shillings for filing the marriage notice and 3,900 shillings for the whole marriage process.
There is no dowry or bride price needed or required in a civil marriage :