Hypocrisy or what? Internet stands divided over Pakistani designer's anti-dowry couture campaign

The internet seems to be divided at the moment over Ali Xeeshan, a Pakistani fashion designer’s recent collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women Pakistan. Ali recently took the internet by a storm for portraying ills of dowry via his latest fashion campaign. 

The Pakistani fashion designer’s campaign against dowry shows the "epochal and alarming issue of families fretting over saving money for their daughters’ dowry (Jahez) instead of their education that is far more important."

The campaign marks Mr Xeeshan's latest collection 'Numaish', which was launched at the 'Pantene HUM Bridal Couture Week 2021' in collaboration with UN Women Pakistan. The collaboration is part of UN Women's 'Jahez Khori Band Karo' campaign, which calls on people to stop asking for and giving dowry. It is usually termed as Jahez in South Asian weddings and is quite a well known practice. 

Sharing the video Ali Xeeshan wrote: “Put a stop to this overburdening tradition!" The statement was tweeted out by the official Instagram handle of UN Women Pakistan, which urged people to pledge against the practise of dowry.

The video features a red lehenga-clad young woman, struggling to pull a cart weighed down by a pile of things, being stacked by the bride's tired parents. The camera zooms in to show tears rolling down her cheeks, while the husband walks in and sits on top of the piled up stack.

While many lauded the effort, others called it an act of 'hypocrisy'. Many said that the fashion campaign was basically a gimmick of selling expensive clothes. They pointed out that Ali Xeeshan’s couture also forms a part of that dowry and burdens the bride's parents to a large extent.

Check out some reactions here: