Hindu women had minimal rights to their ancestral land holdings. Since ancient times, they have no longer had the same right to land on their ancestral property as their male counterparts. This is due to the traditional practice of stridhan in Indian society. This tradition has influenced women’s share of land inheritance. Laws such as the Hindu Succession Amendment Act (2005) have introduced a new equality rule that ensures that women must enjoy the same inheritance rights as men, especially in the case of land inheritance. It mentions that sexual discrimination will be abolished in the Hindu succession rules. Under Section 6 of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act (2005)Daughters are entitled to the same rights to ancestral property as their male counterparts.
According to the UNFPA analysis paper “Asset ownership by women in India: Insights from NFHS data“The sole and joint land ownership of women (aged 15 to 49 years) is only 8.3 percent and 23.4 percent, respectively. Like the ancient Dharmshastras (Hindu law book). ManusmritiShe writes: “Her father protects her in childhood, her husband protects her in youth and her sons protect her in old age, a woman is never fit for independence.” This represents that a woman is never an independent person, she is always in the shadow of a man and she does not have to own any property.
The data from National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) shows that more men than women own property. However, women are not 100 percent excluded from inheriting movable or immovable property from ancestors and marital families, although their share of wealth was far lower than that of their male counterparts.
What is the concept of Stridhan and its relevance in Indian society?
Stridhan is a Sanskrit term that combines two words: Stri, meaning women, and Dhan, meaning wealth or property, i.e. property or assets of women. It is also written as Stridhana, Stridhanam, Streedhana, Istridhan etc. It mainly includes wedding gifts such as clothing, jewelry, jewelry, utensils, livestock and in some rare cases, land property. Both immovable and movable property are included in Stridhan. This concept of Stridhan has been relevant in Indian society since ancient times.
The ancient Dharmshastra (Hindu law code) Manusmriti first used the term stridhan to denote types of property that can only belong to women. Other ancient texts like Smritis, Puranas etc. talk about the stridhan but no one specifically mentions the hereditary property rights of women. A woman was never the sole owner of her stridhan because as mentioned in Manusmriti, a woman belongs to her husband along with her property.
How does Stridhan affect women’s right to inherit land?
According to the Asian Development Bank Report 2018Two main reasons for the blatantly unequal distribution of land to Indian women are personal religious law governing ownership of land, which is under the jurisdiction of the state and is not regulated by the Constitution under a uniform law, so inheritance rights tend to discriminate against women. Secondly, women’s land ownership in India’s patriarchal societies is prevented by deep-rooted cultural ethos. Cultural ethos as in the context of Hindu women in the society, people are traditionally bound to this Stridhan concept which is that women have rights only to family gifts like gold ornaments, jewelry, clothes etc. and not to their land like their brothers.
In Indian society, daughters are known to be called “Paraya Dhan” which means the wealth of another person e.g. B. her husband and her parents-in-law. All these traditional and cultural beliefs and the great influence of Stridhan affected the right of women to inherit land. Parents often do not see the need to transfer property rights to their daughters through inheritance. The social practice in Hindu society assumes that the stridhan has already been provided to the daughter and therefore she no longer has any claim to the inheritance.
Why do women refrain from claiming their inheritance?
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act (2005) (HSAA) was amended to protect women’s right to an equal share in ancestral property, including land. This legal reform guaranteed equal rights for daughters and sons. Bias against women in the cultural and social ethos has limited these guarantees of equal land rights for women.
The Amendment to Section 6 Giving daughters the same birthright as boys was the most significant change brought about by the Hindu succession. By granting the descendants of a deceased daughter the same rights of representation as the children of a deceased son, it also equalized the equality of male and female lineages. But the question here is why women refrain from claiming their inherited land ownership rights. There are also many cultural and traditional reasons, but one of the reasons is the constant discrimination against the daughter since childhood. They face discrimination based on their gender and the patriarchal belief system in family and society. They are considered weak and incapable of maintaining property such as land, houses, etc. themselves. These discriminations led to their socio-economic backwardness, which further weakened their claim to their ancestral land or house.
Many traditional and cultural practices also prevent them from claiming these rights, such as: E.g. Brother and sister relationships strongly bonded through festivals like Rakshabandhan, Bhaidooj etc. Women confine themselves to stridhan, which continues even after marriage in the form of gifts to several distinguished occasions. All these traditional boundaries prevent women from claiming inheritance rights, even if they are aware of their legal rights.
Than that World Bank Report 2012 Highlights While developing countries continue to improve economic opportunities for women, inheritance laws in many societies remain highly misogynistic. When the distribution of inherited wealth is highly unequal, the impact of this inequality on economic inequality is of considerable interest. Parental legacies of material wealth and investments in human capital represent key forms of intergenerational transfer that have profound implications for long-term development.
How can women become empowered and independent?
Inheritance is the main way of obtaining land in India. Equal land rights for women is also a key objective of Goal 5 on gender equality in the EU United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Because through this, gender equality will come into society, and women will become economically independent without being dependent on their husbands, fathers and brothers, and will be able to make their own decisions and participate equally in all areas.
According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, “Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.” This 2005 legal reform is a way to give daughters equal rights to their father’s entire property to ensure their safety and trust. It can eventually lead to a decrease in the cases of crimes against women such as domestic violence, sexual exploitation, inequality, etc.
Women in India face various levels of violence from their husbands and family members. One of the reasons for this is economic dependence on their husbands or inability to give sufficient dowry. The increasing cases of dowry crime in the country have increased the importance of equal property rights for women. Owning land and property will not increase their confidence in earning income, but it will play a crucial role in giving them a significant say in household decisions, both domestic and economic.
The lack of such rights often results in women having lower status within both family and social structures. The 2005 law reform is the panacea for several problems for women. Modern society should accept this reform for the sake of their daughter. It will ensure a better future for both the country and women overall.
