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In Afghanistan, few bat an eye when a young suitor spends a small fortune to secure his bride.

The payment of a walwar - essentially a dowry or premarital fee paid to the bride-to-be's parents - can run into the thousands of dollars, adding to the already exorbitant costs plunked down for the wedding itself.

Now there is a movement within the country's government to divorce the Afghan people from such long-standing but financially crippling ...