Land Rights of Women in India: How Much Has Changed After 2005

Abstract

Gender equality has been the cornerstone of the Indian constitution and India’s democratic principles; however, gender inequality and biases persist in Indian society and the legal system of the country at large. In the arena of inheritance and succession especially, women have been deprived from making any claim on land and property. As most of the land in India is passed through inheritance, very few women in India own land in a patriarchal society where gender biases are deeply enrooted in the very social fabric and culture of the society. There have been many studies highlighting the inter-relationship between women’s right to land and property and women’s security saying that it leads to constitute a complex situation for women and exposes her for physical and structural violence. Keeping the same in the preview, Indian government has revised the land and inheritance law from time to time to ensure women’s right over land and other resources. In a major breakthrough, in the year 2005, the government has amended the existing Hindu Succession Act 1956 to guarantee women equal right with men in land and ancestral property. However, little has changed on ground. The proposed paper will analyze the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005 and its effectiveness for women’s claim to land and property in India.