Due to rising “bride costs,” men in China are expected to pay bigger dowries. Some news stories say that this is made worse by the gender imbalance. 

What is gender imbalance?

The number of men in a population compared to the number of women. This is usually given as the number of men per 100 women.

What is bride price?

Bride price is money, property, or some other form of wealth that the groom or his family gives to the woman or her family.

Population experts think that China’s population planning policies and the country’s preference for sons are to blame for the imbalance between men and women.

In addition, the National Bureau of Statistics has stated that China’s population dropped by 8.5 million in 2022. This is the first drop in population since the famine in 1961.

Furthermore, in 2023, scholars believe that India will pass China and become the most populous country on Earth.

Key facts!

• The gender gap in rural China is rising, which is causing men to pay record dowries, often known as “wedding prices.”
• This practice has become common that the Chinese government has promised to step in and stop it.
• China has a long history of natives practising the cultural tradition of “bride price”.
• The Chinese government is concerned that the rising number of single men in comparison to the rising number of single women has worsened the tendency.
• The imbalance is a remnant of decades of tight family planning rules.
• Scholars believe that this has also led to China’s population declining in 2022.
• The government also intends to launch an initiative to curb exorbitant “bride prices” and extravagant wedding ceremonies.
• This is done to strengthen rural cultural-ethical standards countrywide.
• The government officials also stated that “‘bride price’ is a traditional Chinese prerequisite for marriage.
• It serves as a goodwill gesture between the couple and their two families.
• But the “bride price” has gone from being a small amount to being very high.”
• So officials empower local governments to formulate norms for changing outdated customs.

Esther talks to people on the streets of China in this video to find out how important the Bride price is in modern China.

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