图文阅读:家有一女如有一宝

在印度拉贾斯坦邦，才貌双全的男人也未必能讨到老婆，除非他有一个妹妹。 　　

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

以印度拉贾斯坦邦为例，即使男方才貌双全，有女儿的人家也不会轻易将女儿嫁出，除非男方家还有一个待字闺中的女儿可以嫁给女方家尚未娶亲的儿子。拉贾斯坦邦的Shekhawati地区一名立法者指出：“在过去几年里，该地区大约有30％的婚约都是在这样相互交换的模式下达成的。” 　

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.

报道说，按照印度传统，女孩出嫁时，父母都会准备丰厚的嫁妆给新郎家以确保女儿婚姻幸福，但如今在许多邦出现无嫁妆出嫁的情况。与此相反，新郎家倒是需要为新娘家准备一个姑娘去“陪嫁”给新娘家。 　　

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.