General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Looks like Maria will be back in the loving arms of her family soon [View all]moriah
(8,311 posts)I really don't like the concept of dowries, whether they're paying for a bride, or paying a person to take a bride off your hands. I really also don't like child marriage, or arranged marriage.
But this is a traditional culture, and for centuries this has been their practice, for youths to marry at a young age and it pretty much be arranged by the parents. The associated tradition of "kidnapping" a bride so that they can marry without their parents consent is also disturbing, and both practices have been linked as factors to vulnerability for exploitation. Suggesting that she was going to be sold as a bride, if they're referring to that practice, is kind of extreme.
Also, I saw in the documentaries that a dowry of 7000 Euros was allegedly paid for a girl who was a good thief. I think it costs far more than 7000 Euros to raise a child for 10 or 12 years. I suspect the only way they were making any real money off of this child was benefits fraud (one sighing of possible begging does not make it systematic). And as much as defrauding the government is a bad thing, it's the least of what they've been accused of with very little individual basis for suspicion.