What are the Property Rights of Women in India?
The property rights of women in India have evolved over the years. Traditionally, such rights have always been exploitative. However, post-independence has witnessed some communities like Hindus adopting certain amendments in their property and inheritance laws, providing some respect to women.
Apart from that, selected communities like the Muslim have shown limited changes and contain stringent property and inheritance-related provisions that require attention. Keep scrolling as this article highlights the property rights of women in India in each community.
What Are the Property and Inheritance Rights of Women Under Hindu Law?
Property and inheritance rights of women under the Hindu Law are mentioned below:
1. Property Rights of Wife
According to the Hindu Succession Law, a married woman has the right over her own property, which she can gift, sell or give it to someone according to her wish. She qualifies to receive shelter, maintenance and support from her husband and his Hindu Undivided Family.
Furthermore, she will also enjoy an equal share of rights in case of property division. Besides, she is eligible to get an equal share of her deceased husband's assets, apart from her children and his mother.
2. Property Rights of Daughter
A daughter shall enjoy an equal share of her parent's property, like her other male siblings. Moreover, a daughter is a coparcener in the ancestral property and holds the same duties as her brothers towards the concerned property.
A married daughter holds the right to ask for shelter or maintenance from her parents if she is deserted, divorced or widowed. After she becomes an adult, she has rights over any willed or gifted property or asset.
3. Property Rights of Mother
A mother falls under the category of class I heir, which implies that she has the right over her son's assets after his death, like his children and wife. If children divide the assets of their family after their father's death, then a mother is eligible to get an equal share of the property as her children.
Moreover, she has the right to receive maintenance and shelter from her children. Further, she also has complete rights over her assets and properties and can give them to anyone she wishes. Upon her demise, her children are eligible to inherit her properties.
4. Property Rights of Daughter-in-law
A daughter-in-law enjoys no right over the properties, be it ancestral or self-acquired, of her parents-in-law. She can obtain the rights over such properties only through inheritance and property share of her husband.
5. Property Rights of a Sister
Being a class II legal heir, a sister can claim her right over her deceased brother's assets or property, given that he has no mother, wife and children.
6. Property Rights of Divorced Women
A divorced woman can claim alimony and maintenance from her ex-husband, but not on his property. Her ex-husband is considered a property owner if the property is registered in his name. If the wife and husband jointly own the property, then the former has to furnish evidence to prove her contribution to purchasing that property. Only after furnishing the proof will she be entitled to receive a portion up to her contribution to that property.
If there is a separation between the wife and the husband without any formal divorce, then the children and wife are eligible to inherit the man's property, irrespective of his remarriage.
7. Property Rights of Second Wife
The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 says polygamy is illegal. A man can neither marry more than one wife nor keep more than one legal wife simultaneously. However, if a man remarries after the death or divorce from his wife, the second wife is considered class I heir to his property.
If this does not happen, then the second wife cannot claim her right over her deceased husband's properties or assets. However, her children from this marriage have the rights over their father's property.
8. Property Rights of Remarried Widow
A widow will get an equal share of her deceased husband's property apart from his children and mother. According to the Hindu Remarriage Act 1956, if the widow remarries, she has to give up her right over her deceased husband's property.
However, according to Section 24 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956, if the widow is unmarried during the discussion of the property distribution and marries much later, then she has the right to claim her ex-husband's property.
Read more about Property Insurance in India
What Are the Property and Inheritance Rights of Women Under Muslim Law?
Take a look at the property rights of women under Muslim Law:
1. Property Rights of Daughter
According to Muslim Law, a woman's value is half that of a man's. Considering this logic, a daughter in a Muslim family will inherit half what the sons are getting. However, a woman enjoys complete rights over her property and can gift, sell or manage it according to her wish.
A daughter has the right to reside in her parental property after divorce or widowhood if she has no children. She becomes her children's responsibility once her children grow up.
2. Property Rights of Divorced Mother and Widow
A divorced or widowed mother is eligible to receive maintenance from her children. Besides, she will inherit one-sixth of the assets of her child after his or her death. Moreover, once a divorcee receives her 'Mehr', she stops being associated with her husband and his family.
Furthermore, she cannot receive property from her husband after his death. Similarly, if a widow remarries, she cannot claim her rights over her deceased husband's property. Under Muslim Law, having a second wife is legally valid. She shares equal property rights with the third and first wife.
3. Property Rights of Wife
According to Sharia, a married woman has complete rights over her properties and other assets. She is eligible to ask for maintenance from her husband and other appropriate provisions after a formal divorce. She will also get 'Mehr' as determined during the marriage.
After her husband's death and being the only wife, she will receive one-fourth of her dead husband's assets. This is valid only when they do not have any children from that marriage. This share becomes one-eighth in the case of children from the marriage.
Additionally, if the deceased husband had married more than one woman, then every wife will receive only one-sixteenth of his property. However, if there are no sharers, a will created by the deceased husband can increase his wife's share to a certain extent.
What Are the Property and Inheritance Rights of Women Under Christian Law?
Mentioned below are the property rights of women under Christian Law:
1. Property Rights of Wife and Widow
According to Christian Law, if a wife does not receive maintenance from his husband, she can file for a divorce from his husband. After her husband's death, a widow can inherit one-third of his property. Children get the remaining property shares. She will receive half of her husband's property if there are no children. The Christian Law caps the minimum amount to ₹ 5,000 that a wife can inherit from her dead husband.
2. Property Rights of Daughter
A daughter in a Christian family shall get an equal share of her parental properties apart from her siblings. She is eligible to reside on her parental property and receive maintenance from her parents until she marries a man. After marriage, her husband is responsible for maintaining her requirements.
When a daughter is a minor, her father is her natural guardian. After becoming an adult, she enjoys the right over her property.
3. Property Rights of Mother
According to women's property rights in Christian Law, a mother is not dependent on her children. Moreover, a mother cannot get maintenance. However, if her child dies and has no children, then the mother is eligible to receive one-fourth of his property.
The inheritance rules for a remarried widow, divorcee and second wife are similar to that of Hindu Laws.
Every woman needs to know about their property rights so that they do not get deprived of possession that they are eligible to get and support her in times of financial crisis. So, carefully go through the details of the property rights of women in India pertaining to each community to avoid any inconvenience during property distribution in future.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Hindu Women's Right to Property Act 1937?
According to the Hindu Women's Right to Property Act 1937, a deceased coparcener's wife in a Mitakshara undivided family will share the similar right that her husband had when he was alive. Besides, a widow can also claim her right to the property partition.