Director Nabeel Qureshi’s 2018 romance-drama Load Wedding, which revolved around dowry, may not have been a smash hit but was widely praised for highlighting a serious issue. And now, a resolution has been submitted in the Punjab Assembly, seeking a ban on the age-old custom of dowry.
As per a report in The News International, the resolution was presented on March 30th in the Punjab Assembly by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Uzma Zahid Bukhari. The resolution stated that the custom of dowry is not present in the teachings of Islam and demanded an action against all those who ask for it.
On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had already passed a bill last year that not just bans the practice of dowry, but also limits the wasteful spending on weddings.
As per the bill, the bride’s family will not be able to gift anything over the price of Rs 0.2 million while a fine of Rs 0.3 million or a three-month sentence will also be handed to those demanding it.
Mehwish Hayat and Fahad Mustafa, who are the principal cast of Load Wedding, shared their excitement about the news on Twitter. Both the actors were thrilled to see the change being brought about:
I'm so thrilled today to see this happening in #Pakistan we can change anything if we strive and try togather #pakistanzindabad
PML-N MNA submits resolution to ban dowry in Punjab Assembly – https://t.co/aJwNGhCFbM— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) March 31, 2019
Finally there will bo no more #loadweddings 😍 pic.twitter.com/IFxMA2Hq1M
— Fahad Mustafa (@fahadmustafa26) March 31, 2019
While director Nabeel Qureshi retweeted Fahad’s tweet, actor Bilal Ashraf also appreciated the initiative in response.
Great Stuff @fahadmustafa26 https://t.co/PyOXjxztWu
— Bilal Ashraf (@IamBilalAshraf) April 1, 2019