Property Rights of Women in India: An Analysis through Personal Laws

Violation against women is omnipresent both in developed as well as developing countries. However, the lack of property rights and the persistence of the rigid social norms, that restricts women’s activities, is a particular feature in developing country like India. Limited property rights hinder economic development, especially for women. It is evident that improved property rights for women may represent an improvement in welfare. This paper aims to study the property rights provided to women in India through various personal laws. The important laws in regards to property share are the Indian Succession Act 1925, the Hindu Succession Act 2005 and the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937. This article explores judicial developments in the Indian law of succession whereby laws have recently been interpreted by the courts to grant more property rights to Indian women. Tribal women who had been denied inheritance rights under their customary laws have been judicially granted rights in their favour. Also, the applicability of coparcenary claims by Hindu daughters, granted under the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, has now been finally settled by the Supreme Court of India. More than a decade after the passing of the Constitution, the courts continue to adopt a judicious approach when considering the constitutional validity of personal laws.