Abstract

The aim of this paper is to critically examine the persistent gender bias rooted in the Indian legal framework, particularly in the context of Hindu women’s property rights. Despite progressive reforms like the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, which aimed to provide Hindu women equal rights in ancestral property, Indian society’s deep-rooted patriarchal norms continue to hinder its implementation in real life. Through an analysis of historical and contemporary legal provisions—including Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act—and judicial responses to women's property claims, the paper exposes how both law and society perpetuate economic disempowerment of women. The judiciary’s frequent moralizing tone, societal stigma surrounding working women, and legal loopholes further marginalize women's access to property, especially in cases involving widows. The paper argues for systemic reforms, including legal awareness, improved access to justice through affordable and efficient legal aid, and expansion of women-centric courts like Nari Adalats. By highlighting the gap between constitutional guarantees and lived realities, this study calls for urgent attention to the socio-legal mechanisms that deny nearly half the population their rightful agency and economic independence.

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