A dowry is defined as "a nuptial present; some gift, as a sum of
             money, which the bridegroom offers to the father of his bride as a
             satisfaction before he can receive her." (Eastens Bible Dictionary) In
             African countries such as Algeria parental consent and a dowry are required
             before marriage. Algeria has a family code, which states
             "The dowry remains part of the marriage contract and the Code states
             clearly that this sum (property) belongs totally to the wife once the
             marriage has been consummated or the husband dies. The dowry is
             important in that it provides some financial security to the woman,
             provided that her husband and his family have been able to provide
             more than a token dowry. (Markovitz)
             The giving of dowries is a major part of the social structure of many
             African villages. The rules surrounding the dowry vary from nation to
             nation. For instance, in many cases if the couple is divorced the dowry is
             Impact on the relationship between husband and wife
             The dowry system definitely has an impact on marital relationships.
             This impact is due to the fact that the dowry system favors the man and
             offer ignores that emotional aspect of a marriage. The dowry system can
             also create a variety of issues if a wife is barren or does not have any
             sons. In many African societies a woman can not inherit the land of her
             father; instead the land will go to her son. In some cases this
             complication results in female to female marriages. In this type of
             arrangement a barren wife will pay a dowry to bring a new wife into the
             home in the hopes that the new wife will produce a son; therefore securing
             the inheritance of the first wife. A book entitled, The Feminization of
             Development Processes in Africa: Current and Future Perspectives explains,
             "In obtaining a spouse, the barren woman may be adopting ...