Dad’s dowry: 1 million FB ‘likes’

A Yemeni father has set an unusual task for the man who wants to wed his daughter, proving, in the process, that sometimes money really can’t buy love.

Salim Ayyash, a poet from the city of Taizz, has demanded one million Facebook “likes” as a dowry for his daughter, aiming to highlight the problem of ever-rising dowries in his country, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

“No one in Yemen can afford dowries anymore,” Ayash said.

In Yemen fathers have the privilege of setting dowries for their daughters, and the amounts are often far beyond the means of their betrothed, prompting efforts, which have thus far been unsuccessful, to set a maximum limit in law.

The Facebook page at the heart of the challenge was set up on Sunday and by Tuesday had gained just 30,000 “likes.” Ayash said that what matters most to him is seeing the effort that his future son-in-law makes in trying to achieve the goal. And he noted that he is willing to compromise for the sake of the young couple’s future.

“If I see that he’s worked hard, I’m willing to be flexible to see them happily married,” he said.

While some comments posted to the Facebook page applauded Ayash for raising the issue of dowries, others accused him of a publicity stunt of which he was the main benefactor.