An Analysis of Women’s Inheritance Rights in Light of the Hindu Succession Act

Women were deprived of the inheritance of the ancestral property but the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 which was a landmark legislation gave women legal recognition in matters of property and inheritance. However, the Act originally gave sons and daughters unequal rights in ancestral property, reflecting the deep-rooted patriarchy of Indian society. Over the years, amendments and judicial decisions have played a key role in strengthening women’s inheritance rights. The most important reform came through the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, which granted daughters equal coparcenary rights in joint family property. Despite these reforms, women still face challenges in claiming their rightful inheritance due to social stigma, lack of awareness, and resistance from family members. This paper discusses all those changes that were brought through the amendments in India, explains all the landmark judgements which helped in amendments and also all the challenges that women still face in inheriting the ancestral property.