I did not forgive mine even though I set it to an averagely low amount because in Islam, it's for a woman's security and her right to get haq e mahr. I think it's foolish of women to 'maaf' it because Allah swt has made it a part of a wedding so a woman can support herself for atleast some time incase anything happens, God forbid. My husband and I were only ones who sat down and decided on an amount, noone else was involved, not even our parents, we just told our wali and witness, etc later at the time of Nikkah. My husband asked me how much I wanted, and considering how much gold, etc I was going to get, I set it quite low because the purpose of haq e mahr is not to loot your husband :D Anyway so keeping in mind how much all the sets, etc were worth, I told him the amount I wanted, he thought it was a bit low so he raised it a bit and then we agreed on it. I didn't tell my husband to give me anything right away but whenever he is financially able to pay. I wanted it to be only incase of seperation but he said that according to the laws here, I would be able to claim 50 percent of whatever he has anyway.
Whoever your imam is, make sure you wali (father, or whoever) talks to them and makes sure all your haq e mahr and other info is listed on the nikkah nama.
Bilkul right! Haq mehr is not something to be taken lightly. It is your Islamic right- read up on it and know your rights and responsibilities before signing the Nikkah Nama. Make sure you get the advice of an imaan or an Islamic scholar before going over to PK to tie the knot.
Try reading 'The Muslim Woman's Handbook' by Khuda al-Khatab- it explains the issue of Haq Mehr in simple terms. x