Dataset of Dowry and Marriage Practices in Rural Punjab Pakistan

The dataset contains raw cross-section data of 659 households obtained by structured questionnaire-based survey. The survey was conducted in rural Punjab in Pakistan in 2013 to examine the association between dowry and women’s status in the marital household. The questionnaire was uniquely designed to collect information concerning various marital practices in rural Punjab Pakistan, including marriage ceremonies, marriage expenses and transfers, cousin marriage, endogamous marriage, and watta satta (exchange marriage). The survey area covers the entire Punjab Province in Pakistan, and thus, we believe that it could capture the heterogeneous climate, cultural, and socioeconomic aspects of the province. The selection of the survey households followed the stratifying random sampling process so that the survey consists of the representative households in rural Punjab Province. The eligible households were those with an economically active husband and wife aged 15–65 because the primary outcome of the survey was the husband-wife relationship in the marital household.