圖文閱讀:家有一女如有一寶

在印度拉賈斯坦邦，才貌雙全的男人也未必能討到老婆，除非他有一個妹妹。 　　

Long, twirling moustaches and bejewelled daggers are no longer enough for a man seeking to marry in India's desert state of if he is lucky enough to have a sister, he can relax, a newspaper report said Sunday

以印度拉賈斯坦邦爲例，即使男方纔貌雙全，有女兒的人家也不會輕易將女兒嫁出，除非男方家還有一個待字閨中的女兒可以嫁給女方家尚未娶親的兒子。拉賈斯坦邦的Shekhawati地區一名立法者指出：“在過去幾年裏，該地區大約有30％的婚約都是在這樣相互交換的模式下達成的。” 　

A declining sex ratio in the state is prompting a girl's parents to spurn offers of marriage from men unless the potential groom's family also has a marriageable daughter for their son, the Sunday Express said. "Around 30 percent of the marriages in the past year in Shekhawati region of Rajasthan were fixed on this swap system," local lawmaker Rajendra Chauhan said.

報道說，按照印度傳統，女孩出嫁時，父母都會準備豐厚的嫁妝給新郎家以確保女兒婚姻幸福，但如今在許多邦出現無嫁妝出嫁的情況。與此相反，新郎家倒是需要爲新娘家準備一個姑娘去“陪嫁”給新娘家。 　　

The report said that dowry, where traditionally a bride's father had to bestow riches on a groom to secure a marriage, has completely disappeared from many parts of the state. Rather the groom's families are now offering to bear the cost of finding a suitable bride for their sons.