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U. Maghalakshmi,
Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Pudupakkam, Chennai
INTRODUCTION:
The Respected men underlines, “ My mother is my goddess, My sister is my blood,
My wife is my property, but why should my property own a property ”? It makes sense here. The philosophy is women do not stay permanently in their birth place, once they get married they have to move into matrial families. That's why only male members hold property rights in their families. This is how property rights evolved in past decades.Over past 75 years, India has achieved progressive outcomes for women's equality. We have seen an increase in women's education, a reduction in child marriages, ensuring freedom for women in democracy, women in politics, including property rights. But the question is do women utilise all their rights? The disappointing issue is that there are barriers in land ownership of women even after being granted legal provisions in India.
The Hindu Succession Amendment Act (2005) has ensured equal inheritance rights for women. How long does it last? Several states do not follow the same spirit. In India, land plays an important role for women who live in poverty, not just as property, but as a way of livelihood. Almost 80 percent of labourers on farms are women. But the men were recognized as farmers. Although women do most of the work on farms, decision-making falls into the hands of men, even though women are considered landowners. In many parts of rural India parents prefer merely the birth of a boy child to take care of their property. This indicates that patriarchy still prevails in society.
This is the reality of every woman being disabled of her property rights, even when changes take place in the legislation there is a huge gap between laws and customs in India. As we travel through time, women still lag behind men and family members for their land ownership. Let's discuss the barrier on the acquisition of property rights by the women in India and the existing gaps that need to be drawn into the light of society.
PROPERTY RIGHTS OF WOMEN UNDER INDIAN LAW
In India, the law of inheritance may differs accordingly based on different faiths of individuals. It means each community has different personal laws. There are the three important laws regarding property sharing in India. They are:
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act of 2005
The Indian Succession Act of 1925
The Muslim Personal Law, 1937.
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act of 2005 applicable to the Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists which governs the law of inheritance and property sharing among the members of these communities.
The Indian Succession Act of 1925, involves to Christians, Jews and Parsis which governs the law of inheritance and property sharing among members of these communities.
The Muslim Personal Law, 1937 is only applicable to Muslims. Apart from other governing laws Muslim law consists of different provisions and rules regarding the sharing of property among men and women.
NON-UTILIZATION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS BY WOMEN IN INDIA:
In India, Despite 19 years of the passing of the Hindu Succession Amendment Act ( 2005), the access of women to the property is still poor. The issue of property rights is a long standing problem which is deep-rooted in socio-cultural practices. Despite laws and policies, women are still deprived of equitable access to property, both in terms of quality and quantity. India is a home to diverse religion, still to date, delaying to bring Uniform Civil Code gradually increases gender discrimination in personal laws.There are several factors that variously impact women's access to their own land. The following are some of the reasons that are considered as barriers to the acquisition of property rights by women in India.
● MARRIED WOMEN
In India, the father or the Karta will be the head of the family.In most of the families the father prefers his son to inherit the property. This is because of fear of losing control over the land if given to a married daughter.
● PATRIARCHY
The gender gap plays a vital role among men and women in India. The influence of Patriarchal attitudes often complicates where women are facing barriers in their opportunities. The practice of writing father or husband's name behind our names itself questions the gender gap. This is due to the fixed mindset of people where men are superior and women as inferior is a challenging debate. This injustice prevailed from the ancient period.
● LACK OF EDUCATION
Many women are unaware of their rights due to the denial of education. Women may not be aware of the existing laws and implementations enforced by the government. Although, they are unable to direct the legal processes and documents which are involved in the acquisition of property. The lack of knowledge results in failure of decision-making and property management.
● SOCIAL AND CUSTOMARY PRACTICES
Certain social and customary practices are traditionally practised by different people across regions in India. People follow the same tradition over generations on inheritance of property which denies the acquisition of property rights by the women. women are often facing disapproval and disagreements to their rights by families and communities.
● DEFINITION OF FAMILY
The fact is that definition of “Family”has not uniformly applied and interpreted by the state laws. Some states define family membersas children, spouses, and parents, while others extended family members such as siblings, uncles and aunts. Also,in some states, women were excluded. This can make it difficult for women to claim their rights.
● UNFAIR RECORDING BY INSTITUTIONS
The Land institutions fail to record women's inheritance rights. This definitely discriminates against the unfair treatment of institutions. At this point, many women were cheated and lost their property by the institutions.
● WOMEN'S DECISION
The decision made by women is also one of the reasons for non-utilisation of property. Many women are aware of their rights, but donate their property to their husbands or brothers. This is because they have grown up believing their brothers and husbands' lives are more important than their own. Also the fear of damaging family relations if they claim their share. Instead they willfully give to brothers or husbands.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, women's property rights in India have a long history. But to ensure these rights, continuous efforts are needed not just on paper. While laws and policies exist to protect and uphold the property rights of women, societal and cultural biases still make it difficult for women to assert them. To address these issues, the establishment of a uniform civil code can bring drastic changes in society. Further, womens have to be drawn into knowledge of legal frameworks through legal aid camps and with the help of Non Governmental Organisation (NGOs). Despite gender equality, gender equity has to be boosted and achieved in the society through effective implementation of reforms. Additionally, there are many challenges, but social acceptance of women's rights in property leads them. Ironically, ownership of land for women decreases the risk of domestic violence, as economic independence is empowered to leave an abusive relationship. Accordingly, utilisation of property rights by women can promote women empowerment. The way “women continue to be property themselves the road ahead promises to be long and bumpy”.
REFERENCES:
1. HomeCapital Team, All you need to know about the property rights of women in India, HomeCapital Blog (06.07.2024,9.35pm),
2. Pranab R Chaudhary, Manoj Kumar Behera, Dr T Haque, Women Land Rights Mapping in India: Status, process-validation and Rationalisation of Variation, ResearchGate, February 2016,
3. Beth Roberts, We cannot be equal until we are people, GLOBAL ADVOCACY BLOG, (05.07.2024, 12:24pm),
4. Shruti Pandey, Property Rights of Indian women, academia (06.07.2024, 11.45 am) https://www.academia.edu/17835848/Property_Rights_of_INdian_Women
5. Shivani Gupta, Land rights as a pathway to womens empowerment, idr, (05.06.2024, 1.10pm)
6. V.V. Krishnan, Women's struggle for equality in society is exacerbated by the withholding of property and land rights from them, Hindu, (june 1 2017, 5:04pm)
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