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After the disturbing suicide of 23-year-old Ayesha Banu Makrani in Ahmadabad following dowry harassments by her husband and in-laws, the Ulama in the Uttarakhand has taken a strong stance against the practice of dowry.

They have announced that they will not solemnise any nikah where dowry is exchanged and will also socially boycott the families that demand or seek dowry in the procedure of marriage.

“The sin of dowry has destroyed families and taken lives. We have decided to stop conducting nikah ceremonies for marriages where there is an exchange of dowry. These families will also be boycotted by the society if they are not willing to change themselves,” said Mufti Salim Ahmed, an Ulema and member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).

The Ulama have decided to launch a nationwide campaign to appeal to people to join them in the cause. As a start, the Jamiat-Ahle-Hadees in Hyderabad and Secunderabad has launched a campaign to sensitise people against dowry.

“We will run campaigns and identify places where such cases are being reported more often. We will remind people dowry is haram,” Mufti Ahmed said.

Last week, Muslims in Agra took a unanimous decision against the practice of dowry and vowed to renounce it. Following the Masjid Committee and Darul Qaza in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh also decided that the Ulama will not solemnise nikah if there is an exchange of dowry.

It was on February 25, Ayesha killed herself by jumping into the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad allegedly over dowry harassment. In a video she recorded before killing herself as demanded by her husband, Ayesha is seen saying that she is “not made for bottles”.

With a big smile on her face, she is seen saying, “Dad, how long will you fight? Withdraw the case. Ayesha is not made for battles. I love Arif, so why will we bother him? If he wants freedom, then he should be free. Anyway, my life is ending here. I am happy that I will meet Allah. I will ask him where I had made a mistake? What is the fault with me?” she further says.

In her last words, Ayesha says, “This lovely river…I pray that it takes me in it. I am like the winds, I want to flow…And just want to keep flowing.”

Ayesha was a bank employee and a student of economics. She was tortured for more dowry apart from the 1.5 lakhs her father had given. Her husband Arif, has been arrested and her death received much shock and condemnation on the practice of dowry. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi made a passionate plea to end the practice of dowry irrespective of religion and reminded men that harassing women was not manly.