Here is an interesting article by Dr. Bashir Mahmud Ellias that discusses microfinance and its relationship with dowries.

Over the last two to three decades rural Bangladeshi society has experienced a complex range of developments. Among these, NGOs, micro-finance institutions and garment industries have become the major agents of change in the lives of rural Bangladeshi women. Women’s increased access to independent sources of finance, through participation in outside paid employment or through micro-credit, is usually taken as one of the main indicators of the improvement of women’s status and of women’s empowerment.
However, a puzzle remains: if these positive changes have resulted in women’s “empowerment” , why has there not been the kind of improvements in women’s position that might be expected, such as the reduction or abolition of dowry payments, or a reduction in domestic violence? Indeed, if anything these tend to be going in the opposite direction. Dowry amounts continue to rise, as does the associated violence against women.

To read the rest of the article, check out Dr. Bashir Mahmud Ellias’ blog.