The dowry system is a kinship and economic institution in which a bride's family transfers money, property or goods to the groom or his family at marriage, historically practiced across South Asia, parts of Europe, the Mediterranean and elsewhere as a means of establishing a woman's inheritance share, cementing alliances between families, or compensating the groom's household. Dowry practices have varied widely in scale and social meaning, from token ceremonial gifts to substantial transfers that could determine a family's economic standing, and stand in institutional contrast to bridewealth systems in which payment flows from the groom's family to the bride's. In modern India, dowry demands have become associated with coercion and violence against women, prompting legal prohibition of the practice, even as related customs persist informally in many communities.
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