Dowry For Meru Women To Be Reduced Says Elders

Njuri Ncheke, the supreme Council of Meru elders has moved to regulate dowry for Meru women in what they have termed as absurd extorbitant pricess asked by in-laws.

The elders say they were shocked after learning that young men looking to marry in the Meru community were being asked to pay as much as Sh1 million as dowry.

While in a meeting to discuss the implementation of a county policy on sexual and gender- based violence, the elders proposed the formulation of a policy to return the sanctity of dowry among their people.

“Dowry should never be the basis to prevent young men and women from getting lifetime partners,” Josephat Murangiri, Njuri Ncheke’s Secretary General in-charge of operations lamented.

Their policy when implemented will clearly stipulate what traditional dowry rates translates to in modern terms, for example if a family of the bride demands 10 cows, it’ll be upto the elders to stipulate how much one cow is worth rather than leave that interpretation to the parties in the marriage.

The proposal is among a number of measures the elders are proposing to address the region’s low ranking in women rights and gender-based violence. If implemented, the policy will look to reduce the women being seen as commodity or as the property of the men.

The National Crimes Centre ranks Meru as one of the counties with the highest incidences of sexual and gender based violence.