Dowry Vs. Inheritance - A Critical Analysis Of Property Rights Denial To Daughters In India
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Category: Family & Personal Law
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DOWRY VS. INHERITANCE: A CRITICAL
ANALYSIS
OF PROPERTY RIGHTS DENIAL TO DAUGHTERS IN INDIA
Ananya Srivastava, S.S. Khanna Girl's Degree College (University of Allahabad)
ABSTRACT
Women are the building blocks of human life, they own a very prestigious position in our society but with time this position has converted into a critical one now she is left with limited choice and liberty and because of this, she needs such seminar and conferences to show and make the society realises their importance and most importantly to make them believe that they are capable enough. This paper aims to showcase that women have equal rights as men and that daughters have an equal share in their father's property as their brother (son). People in India have this mindset that daughters should not be given any right to inherit the fathers property after his death because it would create a lot of family issues and fragmentation of the family property and instead, they give their daughters a huge some of the money in form of dowry to keep her aside from the family property.
To stop this practice the Dowry Prohibition Act, of 1961 came but still, the women didn't have equal rights in their paternal property this was because of many reasons. But after lots of struggle and legal fight amendment in the Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005 it said that a daughter can acquire her father's and ancestral property. After the famous landmark judgement of Vineeta Sharma vs. Rakesh Sharma, this resulted in a boon. And hence this shows “India’s journey towards equality and women being in forefront”. Keywords: Inheritance, Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act
2005 INTRODUCTION
In ancient times, women held a critical position in the household, as men and women both contributed equally to building their families. Still, in due course, they were being treated as objects which belonged to their home and their rights and independence became a threat to families' reputations. Marriage is an important aspect of women’s life. In India where marriage is considered a holy sacrament, the family of a girl spends all their savings on their daughter's marriage. But at what cost? They prefer giving her husband and in-laws dowry instead of inheritance rights in the family property. In Indian society, a girl is always considered a (paraya dhan) which means one who belongs to the other household, this phenomenon has led women to nowhere as she never has a home of her own.
In this modern time where we are celebrating women and giving them the spotlight, the truth is they get no sense of belonging, this mindset of the people has left the women nowhere because, from the paternal home, they are sent with a huge sum of dowry as a sign of reputation and tradition whereas at the in-laws home, they are beaten till death just for some more money or other electronic items. On July 03, 2022, NDTV published a piece of news titled “Man Kills Wife With Axe Over Dowry Dispute In UP: Cops”. It stated that the victim's family paid a larger dowry than they could have afforded when the 22-year-old was married. Even yet, the woman's in-laws began pressuring her for a motorcycle and more money after she was married. The victim and the accused got into a fight which resulted in her death.
1 Another incident of dowry death was reported On May 18, 2024, Times of India published a case of Visakhapatnam where P Bhaskar Rao, a judge at a family court in Sompeta of Srika sentenced a mother-son duo to seven years of imprisonment and 500 fine for driving son’s wife to suicide. The convicts tortured the deceased for dowry. 2 According to a survey mentioned in BBC India, Police receive thousands of complaints on 1 Mukesh Singh Sengar, “man kills wife with axe upon dowry disputes”NDTV(Uttar Pradesh, 03 July 2022) 2 Divyam sharma, “mother and son duo to seven years of imprisonment” , Times Of India (Visakhapatnam,18 May 2024) harassment of daughters-in-law just for the sake of some amount (dowry) every year. According to the crime data, 35,493 brides were killed in India between 2017 and 2022 for bringing in insufficient dowry.
The cases mentioned below explain otherwise as our society prefers the dowry system over the inheritance rights. In India, women had voting rights before the right to a piece of property where they grew up. The researchers find it fascinating that a woman who becomes an embodiment of a home never has a home of her own. She is always considered as someone out of the family. She has this social pressure to belong to a male relative. This paper aims to understand the laws around the dowry and Inheritance rights of women, the cause of the struggle which have shaped our society in such ways, and how we can make these correlated with achieving the bare minimum for women in India in the era where we see women fighting for the position in the society.
DOWRY Marriage as a social institution is acknowledged as a cultured social order in which two individuals who can commit to each other to marriage have promised themselves to the institutional morals and values and secured a strong relationship to sustain and maintain their wedded responsibility. It serves as a foundation for the continuation of the natural race. Dowry may refer to a monetary or gift contribution made by the wife's family to the man's family at the time of marriage. It should include money, jewellery, electrical equipment, furniture, vessels, utensils, vehicles, and other household items to help the newlyweds begin their lives together. Dowry is an ancient custom, and its existence may date back to records of it. As education and job opportunities for men in India have improved over the decades, the prevalence of dowry has increased.
3And so the cases of dowry death and harassment have increased significantly. In June 2021, the Kerala High Court declared that "matrimonial houses can be the most dangerous place for women," highlighting the inability of dowry-related laws to alter public 3 Soutik Biswas, “how prosperity fuels dowry demand in India”. , https://bbc. com/news/world-asia-india- 65682796 perceptions about dowries in India. The decision to pay a dowry results from dominant social norms governing marriage within the framework of the society they regulate, much like other social phenomena. Dowry payments will remain the primary approach for a daughter's family as long as social conventions prevail. India has a comparatively high tolerable threshold for domestic abuse and low acceptance of divorce. One type of such violence is that which is tied to dowry.
This increases the motivation to spend hefty amounts on the daughter's wedding to "buy" her safety after marriage. And this shows the irony that no matter what, parents are ready to give huge sums of money and other items, but they never recognise their daughters as one of them, worthy of a share in the family’s property. The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 criminalises both giving and receiving dowry. The Act distinguishes between customary wedding presents and dowries. It considers the legitimacy of traditional gift-giving during Indian weddings. We have often seen people feel pride in giving dowry for marriage, even girls take pride and treat it as a token of respect in their in-laws' family. But, we don’t see or hear any instances where the parent or the woman takes pride in getting her right in her family's property.
The term dowry is defined under the Act as follows: ‘dowry’ means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly: a. by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage; or b. by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or any other person; at or before or any time after the marriage in connection with the marriage of said parties. ”4 Dowry was criminalised in 1961. However, it did not adequately protect women from dowryrelated violence during marriage. To address abuse against married women, three criminal law
4 Dowry Prohibition Amendment Act, 2005(first published 1961)
provisions were added to the Penal Code of 1860 and the Indian Evidence Act of 1983. a. If a woman dies in suspicious circumstances within 7 years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, it is presumed to be a case of dowry-death. Dowry is said to have the same definition as that under the Dowry Prohibition Act. b. Similarly, if a married woman commits suicide within the first 7 years of her marriage and there is evidence that her husband or relative had subjected her to cruelty, they may be charged with abetment of suicide. c. If the husband or relatives of the husband subject a married woman to cruelty, they can be punished with imprisonment extending up to three years and a fine.
5 Cruelty is defined as: “(a) Any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; Or (b) Harassment of the woman where such harassment is to coerce her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand. ”6 In a country with over 95% arranged marriages and one of the world's lowest divorce rates (about 1%), individuals who have not experienced divorce, violence, or death are less likely to report dowry exchange during their wedding. The current numbers reveal a significant surge due to underreporting, showing the gravity of the issue before us.
In India, most incidences of dowry-related violence are reported after the woman's death. HISTORY OF DOWRY The approved and legitimate way of a Hindu marriage has always been considered Kanyadan
5 Dowry Prohibition Amendment Act, 2005(first published 1961)
6 Dowry Prohibition Amendment Act, 2005(first published 1961)
as one of the most salving giveaways of one’s life. The concept of Kanyadaan has no mention in the Vedas. As per Dharmashastra, the meritorious act of Kanyadan was not complete until the bridegroom was given a “Dakshina”. In Brahma's form of marriage, this twin aspect of the meritorious act of kanyadan and varadakshina means passing monetary gifts to his daughter such as costly garments, ornaments and precious gems. The father should give the daughter to a bridegroom whom he has invited and who is learned in Vedas and of good conduct. 7 Whatever was given to the daughter at the marriage by parents, friends, and relatives was considered “stridhan”. All these ornaments and costly garments were given out of love and compassion, it was a voluntary act, and there was no compulsion on it. Over time, dowry took the form of social evil in society and now it has assumed a menacing proportion.
the most surprising part is that it has spread even to those committees that were traditionally non-dowry. And this spread of social evil has resulted in such cases where the brides were locked up in a room without food and water even, they were beaten up till death if they failed to bring a hefty sum of money as a dowry. Jeffrey Weaver of the University of Southern California and Gaurav Chiplunkar of the University of Virginia examined more than 74,000 marriages in India between 1930 and 1999 to examine the evolution of dowry over time. They calculated "net dowry" as the difference between the value of cash and gifts given by the bride's family to the groom. The researchers relied on data from India's Rural Economic and Demographic Survey, a panel survey of households across 17 of India's most populous States.
Most Indian marriages are still arranged, and nearly all women marry by their late twenties. Some 90% of the marriages studied until 1999 involved dowry. Dowry payments between 1950 and 1999 amounted to approximately a quarter of a trillion dollars. PREDOMINANCE OF DOWRY IN INDIA Dowry is a social evil in our society and this evil has destroyed many families and most importantly lives of women who are harassed physically, mentally and emotionally and even beaten to death just for the sake of some money or other technological equipment that she was
7 Paras Diwan The Modern Hindu Law (first published in 1972, Allahabad Law Agency, 2019)
socially bound to bring from her paternal home at the time of marriage. This practice is likely to end never because it includes many societal factors some of which are as follows:
1. Economic factor
The parents of the bride used to give the dowry as per their social status and they felt proud of giving dowry as it not only made them superior in their community but they also set an example or even we can say the competition for the next person to pay more money to the groom. Dowry has now largely acquired an economic significance and has become an easy way to fulfil their financial needs and wants. Dowry is often used as financial assistance for men and their families to set up new businesses, pay off previous debts, and buy luxuries, often used for giving dowry when girls in their own families get married. In today's time, the dowry amount is being negotiated based on the degree the boy holds or the salary or his post in the office and if he is a government employee then the amount of the dowry shoots up the sky.
2. Lack of quality education
Mahatma Gandhi wrote in Young India (1928) ‘Any young man who makes a condition of marriage discredits his education and his country and dishonours womankind’. Dowry is such a social evil that it has left its impact on every section of society. It doesn't make any difference between the rich or poor or even between the educated person and the uneducated person because every person is willing to take and give dowry. The education level of the girls is another crucial factor in dowry. In some parts of Bihar people follow a practice of pakadwa vivah which means a type of forced marriage where an eligible bachelor is abducted and compelled to marry, such practices are followed because the girls are uneducated and the families don’t have enough money and property to give dowry to their daughters.
So as they find a suitable boy who has a fixed job and income they get the boy married to their daughter forcibly.
3. Patriarchy
In the patriarchal system, women are not given inheritance rights instead they are compensated with a sum of dowry or the property gifted to them at the time of marriage to transfer all the property to the son as they will be providing the legal heirs of the property to the family because the girl belongs to the different family and not the part of her paternal family once she gets married. The property will go to another house if given to the daughter, a normal misconception of society.
4. Custom and tradition
India is a land of customs and traditions where the people follow social norms without considering their relevance in the present time. Dowry is one such tradition that finds its relevance in Manusmriti. People tend to follow what has been followed through the years.
5. Social Pressure
In India, Inter-caste and Inter-religion marriage is something to be looked upon and nonacceptable in society. It is another factor for the prevalence of the dowry system as individuals are pressured to marry in the same caste which gives them fewer options to choose from. As a result, people give more dowry to people with better socio-economic conditions. EFFECT OF DOWRY SYSTEM The Dowry system is one of the great reasons why daughters are treated as a burden in our society. It is not only economically harmful to a household but it also critically affects women’s physical, mental and emotional health along with social imbalance and discrimination against them. Some of the impacts are as follows:
1. Gender discrimination
Dowry imposes a financial burden on the family of the girls which invites discrimination against girls in society which often leads to female foeticide and infanticide, early marriage, poor care of their health, and no emphasis on education.
2. Gender imbalance
Gender biases that lead to female foeticide and infanticide have a huge impact on the fall of the sex ratio in India. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) for 2020-21, the sex ratio at birth for children born in the last five years in India is 929 females per 1,000 males.8
3. Decline social status and self-esteem of a woman
Due to the discrimination and odd behaviour of the family members, the self-esteem of the girl declines and she starts to feel like she is undesirable and a burden on her family.
4. Violence against women
The cases of dowry death and domestic violence are no news in our society, it is more highlighted these days as women are becoming aware and developing a sense of wrong and right whereas in earlier times violence was not a topic to come out of the four walls of the house as it was also associated with the fake reputation of the family. Financial dependence of a woman and her children on the husband is still one the most common reasons that women are not able to get out of an unhealthy marriage and tolerate injustice as she has no other option to survive. Often the parent suggests tolerating and giving them hope for a better future, which is a mere illusion.
MEASURE TO ERADICATE DOWRY The evil practice of the dowry system will only come to an end when this practice is not seen as a token of pride by either party to the marriage and the necessity of giving the dowry by the bride's family to the groom will be seen against the principle of a civilised society. The bride's family sometimes uses it as a tool for the safety of their daughter in her in-laws' family from any kind of violence and ill-treatment. And sometimes it is given to compensate for the daughter's right to inheritance. In some places mainly in parts of Bihar people follow the practice of Pakadwa vivah to escape from giving dowry but that option is not appropriate though the marriage is not illegal it can lead to many problems in the groom's family.
To stop this evil the most important thing that needs to be followed is that daughters and sons should be given equal status in the family; it should not be only in the Acts or Laws but as a 8Piyush, Indian Sex Ratio Nfhs-5 Survey Estimated Sex Ratio( published on 23 May 20224) https://www. studyiq. com/articles/sex-ratio-inindia/#:~:text=1020,Male%20Female%20Ratio%20in%20India,to%20933%20in%202022%2D23 social practice.
1. Education
The first and foremost step that should be taken is that the parents must educate their girls as it will lead to financial stability and increase self-confidence in the women which will help in curbing such crime against women. According to official reports, the education of girls has increased over the years from 11% to 54% but there is still a lapse and we still hear cases of dowry deaths this is because the parents teach their daughters to adjust in all the circumstances and do not complain about her in-laws and sometimes this leads to cases of suicide or they are beaten till death. So not only education, girls need quality education as well as support and encouragement, to grow and become selfindependent.
2. Law– laws have been enacted several times to prohibit the practice of dowry and
violence against women because of it. The Dowry Prohibition Act was passed on 20th May 1961 to remove or scrap out the evil practice of dowry from society. This Act not only accepts the practice of accepting dowry unlawful but also penalises giving dowry. Dowry includes property, and valuable security like cash, jewellery etc, received during marriage. Asking for dowry is punishable with imprisonment of 5 years and a minimum fine of 15,000 rupees. Complaints of cruelty by the husband or the in-laws of the women are dealt with under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code and Section 198A in the Criminal Procedure Code. Section 113A added in the Indian Evidence Act further provides the family of the bride to charge the husband’s family of abetting the suicide of their daughter within 7 years from the date of marriage.
3. Social Awareness – The widespread awareness against the evils of the dowry system
is the first and foremost step towards eradicating the practice. Campaigns must be done to spread awareness among the people and women and girls should be taught about their human rights, fundamental rights and ways to speak up against violence and wrongdoing in society. The most important and impactful step for eradicating the social evil of the dowry system would be encouraging daughters and girls to take their rightful inheritance of property from their parents provide daughters the same position as a son in the family.
4. Right Of Inheritance - As the researchers have discussed earlier, parents don't want
to give inheritance rights to their daughters. Instead, they take their burden off by giving away their daughter and dowry. The right of inheritance to daughters is provided in the Hindu Succession Act. The Hindu Succession Act has been in force for the last six decades and the recent amendment to the Act made it very obvious and legally binding that after the Hindu Succession Amendment Act (2005) this amendment omitted Section 4 of the Act and substituted Section
6 which says as follows;
The substituted Section 6 shall be named as 9; Devolution of Interest in Coparcenary Property.
- (1) On and from the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, in a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law, the daughter of a coparcener shall,- (a) by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son; (b) have the same rights in the coparcenary property as she would have had if she had been a son; (c) be subject to the same liabilities in respect of the said coparcenary property as that of a son, and any reference to a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to include a reference to a daughter of a coparcener: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall affect or invalidate any disposition or alienation including any partition or testamentary disposition of property which had taken place before the 20th day of December 2004.
(2) Any property to which a female Hindu becomes entitled by virtue of sub-section (1) shall be held by her with the incidents of coparcenary ownership and shall be regarded, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, or any other law for the time being in force, as property capable of being disposed of by her by testamentary disposition. (3) Where a Hindu dies after the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, his interest in the property of a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law, shall devolve by testamentary or intestate succession, as the case may be, under this Act and not by survivorship, and the coparcenary property shall be deemed to have been divided as if a partition had taken place
9 Hindu Succession Amendment Act,2005 (first published in 1956)
and,- (a) the daughter is allotted the same share as is allotted to a son; (b) the share of the predeceased son or a pre-deceased daughter, as they would have got had they been alive at the time of partition, shall be allotted to the surviving child of such predeceased son or of such predeceased daughter; and (c) the share of the pre-deceased child of a pre-deceased son or of a pre-deceased daughter, as such child would have got had he or she been alive at the time of the partition, shall be allotted to the child of such pre-deceased child of the pre-deceased son or a pre-deceased daughter, as the case may be. Explanation.
- For this sub-section, the interest of a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to be the share in the property that would have been allotted to him if a partition of the property had taken place immediately before his death, irrespective of whether he was entitled to claim partition or not.
(4) After the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, no court shall recognise any right to proceed against a son, grandson or great-grandson for the recovery of any debt due from his father, grandfather or great-grandfather solely on the ground of the pious obligation under the Hindu law, of such son, grandson or great-grandson to discharge any such debt: Provided that in the case of any debt contracted before the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, nothing contained in this sub-section shall affect- (a) the right of any creditor to proceed against the son, grandson or great-grandson, as the case may be; or (b) any alienation made in respect of or in satisfaction of, any such debt, and any such right or alienation shall be enforceable under the rule of pious obligation in the same manner and to the same extent as it would have been enforceable as if the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 had not been enacted.
Explanation. - For the purposes of clause (a), the expression "son", "grandson" or "great-grandson" shall be deemed to refer to the son, grandson or great-grandson, as the case may be, who was born or adopted prior to the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005. (5) Nothing contained in this section shall apply to a partition, which has been effected before the 20th day of December 2004. Explanation. - For the purposes of this section "partition" means any partition made by execution of a deed of partition duly registered under the Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908) or partition effected by a decree of a court. '. 10 INHERITANCE Inheritance means when a person dies, his property is passed on to their legal heirs with all the
10 Bare Act, Hindu Succession (Amendment)Act 2005 (first published 1956,)
rights and titles. But in this race of passing off the property to the legal heirs, the daughters are always kept aside and they are not considered a part of the family. Hindu Succession Act 1956, daughters' right to inherit; In several parts of the country mainly in Punjab & Haryana there was a movement that daughters should not be given the right of inheritance in their fathers or family's property. In 1962 the issue was raised by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, and later this problem was again raised by the Punjab government which gave a novel suggestion that a female getting her shares in her father's property should get shares in her father-in-law's property.
But under Hindu law & Punjab customary law, the daughter-in-law has never been considered a legal heir of the in-laws' family, though, in some parts of Punjab, a widowed daughter-in-law gets a share of the in-law's property no nearer relation is present. 11 Reasons Why Parents Don’t Want To Give Shares In The Property To Daughters Parents don't want to give their property to their daughters because they think that daughters won't stay with them forever and once they get married here shares will go to their husbands which may connect to the inclusion of someone outside of the family, and this may lead to the fragmentation of holdings and business. So the property goes to the son and it will remain with the family for many generations.
Another excuse for not giving daughters a share of family property is that they are given a huge sum of dowry at marriage and this is mainly done to remove them from the numbers of successors. Other quoted reasons were that this division of shares may ruin the brother-sister relationship. Lastly, the mindset of the people is that women after marriage more likely to have a soft corner towards their husband’s family and this may result in losing that property if a woman dies without any issue it will remain with her husband and in-laws. TESTAMENTARY SUCCESSION As per the Mitakshara school, a Hindu male has the full power to alienate from his self-acquired property. He can alienate by way of gifts he even can make e will for this purpose. In Hindu culture, there was no restriction over power in respect of property. But it was later said that no
11 Paras Diwan,’Daughters right to inheritance & fragmentation of holdings’ (SCC Online,
1978) accessed on 17 th May 2024 coparcener of an undivided family can sell off his shares without prior information to the other coparceners. HINDU SUCCESSION ACT, 1956 Hindu Succession Act,1956 an act relating to the succession and inheritance of property. This Act lays down a comprehensive and uniform system that incorporates both succession and inheritance. This Act also deals with intestate or unwilled (testamentary) succession. Therefore, this Act combines all the aspects of Hindu succession and brings them into its ambit. This article shall further explore the applicability, the basic terms and definitions and the rules for succession in the case of males and females. The rules of Hindu personal law are heavily dependent on the two schools popularly known as Mitakshara School and Dayabhaga School. According to the Mitakshara School, there are two modes of devolution of property.
These are: • Devolution by survivorship • Devolution of succession The rule of survivorship is only applicable with respect to joint family property or coparcenary property. On the other hand, succession rules apply to separate property held by a person. However, the Dayabhaga school places emphasis on succession as the only mode of devolution of property. The article discusses the rules of succession under the Act and gives an overview of the whole Act. It also describes the devolution of coparcenary property along with the major changes brought by it. 12 IMPACT OF WOMEN'S INHERITANCE RIGHTS Gender inequality is deeply integrated into the culture of many countries, including India. Gender disparity manifests itself in various methods, including unequal access to school, poor health and nutritional outcomes, a lack of labour market involvement, and financial exclusion.
Women's economic involvement is thought to be The United Nations' Agenda 2030 states that
12 I Pleaders The Hindu Succession Act,1956 https://blog.ipleaders.in/the-hindu-succession-act-1956/
"women and girls must enjoy equal access to quality education, economic resources, and political participation, as well as equal opportunities with men and boys for employment, leadership, and decision-making at all levels, influenced by three major factors: social institutions, women's access to resources, and the level of overall development." Some of the positive impacts of the inheritance of property by the women are as follows:
1. Balanced decision-making power
Women's access to property through ownership rights is a critical predictor of betterbalanced patterns of distribution of wealth, household power of argument, and marriage decision-making. land is a key asset and an essential source of livelihood. Women's autonomy is enhanced when they have greater legal capacity to inherit property since it gives them more control over their resources. She gains more from working outside as a result of this increase in autonomy, which makes her want to work longer hours.
2. Change in Intra-household dynamics
When a woman in the family has been exposed to HSA, the other members of the household are dedicating more time to domestic tasks. Members of the household tend to spend more time on home chores. The gender norms that subjugate women have been able to be challenged through inheritance reform.
3. Heterogeneity in gender role
The roles of a male and a female are strict which has now become a part of their subconscience and expectation of the social norm but in various studies, it has been found that women who are aware of their Rights and more independent, their households are trying to break the mould of the standardised distribution of the duties and roles of male and female in a household.
4. Courage to stand against the wrong
The inheritance rights and education are not just the source of independence but of confidence to stand strong against violence and ill-treatment of the husband and the inlaws.
Financial stability plays a crucial role in the independence of an individual. Social evils such as Dowry, domestic violence, etc can be curbed by giving daughters equal rights in the property as their sons.
5. Responsible toward their parents
traditionally, in an Indian household, sons are seen as the caregivers to the parents, they are the ones who will be responsible for their parents well well-being when they grow old, which was one of the important reasons for giving their property to the male member of the family but with the changing trend in the society, it is evident that financially capable daughters play same or even important role in caring if the parents. Inheritance rights to women will make this responsibility more impactful. SUGGESTION The phenomenon of curbing the social evil of the dowry system with women's inheritance rights is too good to be true in the current scenario. Therefore, the following are some suggestions to fill the gap between the two:
1. Improvement in the education system
The rights regarding women's inheritance rights should be taught at the school level which would encourage girls for quality education and develop a sense of reasoning among them regarding their rights and duties.
2. Awareness through policy and advertisement
Though the Hindu Succession Act was amended in 2005, people are not actively aware of such rights. The state government should launch awareness campaigns and policies to make people aware of the same.
3. Social awareness
The legislative authority has done its work by making the law and has made a step toward gender equality and independence of women. Society plays even an more important role than when it comes to social change, when we as a society take steps towards the inheritance rights of women then only in reality does social change come. Conclusion In India, where girls are worshipped as goddesses at an early age. Later, they become a burden on their families and lifetime workers for their husbands and in-laws. The Constitution has given us equal rights to live with liberty. The personal laws are also changing the circumstances and giving women equal rights in the society.
Matrimony is an important aspect of an individual's life but the position of women in society has made it a barter system, the women get security and a place to live in exchange for their freedom and liberty of thought and action. But, inheritance rights of women can be one of the best ways to curb the injustice toward women as it would give them financial independence which is a crucial aspect for one’s freedom and independence.