The Labour leadership’s narrow definition of ‘working people’ leads to distorted and unjust Budget calculations, where the unearned income of the super-wealthy doesn’t factor in at all, argues JON TRICKETT MP
Fighting dowry oppression in the Indian community
JOGINDER BAINS explains how this feudal, patriarchal institution that disowns and oppresses women is still justified today in India and Britain, why it is so wrong – and how the struggle against it can move forward
IT’S frequently argued that dowry is the way of giving a daughter her share in the parental property. Is this the case? Does it represent the daughter’s share — or it is a practice that disinherits her?
Though there is no historical evidence available on the origin of the practice of dowry, traces of it are found in ancient traditions in all societies, cultures and religions.
In Britain, for example, women were expected to pay a handsome dowry in exchange of husband’s family name and his title.
Similar stories
Despite the harsh conditions they face, Iranian women have proved to be vanguards in the struggle for fundamental changes in our country, says Dr AZAR SEPEHR
Women’s hard-fought-for rights are facing sustained and serious ideological attack. Let this International Women’s Day be a call to arms, says Professor MARY DAVIS
The failure of international institutions, from the UN to the ICC, to hold the Taliban accountable for the brutal repression of women creates a climate of tolerance for daily crimes by the patriarchal regime, writes SHUKRIA RAHIMI



