Women's property rights

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According to The Indian Succession Act, 1925, everyone is entitled to equal inheritance, except Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Muslims. Under this act, the daughter of a person dying intestate would be entitled only to one-fourth of the son’s share, or Rs. 5,000/- (Sthree Dhana), whichever is lesser.
To actually achieve equal inheritance to all, the laws will have to be amended. In regard to succession to property among Hindus, the right by birth should be abolished and the Mitakshara coparcenary should be converted into Dayabhaga, that means equal distribution of not only separate or self acquired properties of the diseased male, but also of undivided interests in coparcenary property. Daughter of a coparcener in a Hindu joint family governed by Mitakshara Law to be coparcener by birth in her own right in the same manner as a son; to have right of claim by survivorship and to have same liabilities and disabilities as a son; coparcenary property to be divided and allotted in equal share.

Daughter of a coparcener in a Hindu joint family governed by Mitakshara Law to be coparcener by birth in her own right in the same manner as her son; to have right of claim by survivorship and to have same liabilities and disabilities as a son; coparcenary property to be divided and allotted in equal share.
However, to actually achieve equal inheritance to all, the laws will have to be amended. In regard to succession to property among Hindus, the right by birth should be abolished and the Mitakshara coparcenary should be converted into Dayabhaga; that means equal distribution of not only separate or self acquired properties of the diseased male, but also of undivided interests in coparcenary property. In the view of such recommendations by NGOs and governmental organizations over the time, The Rajya Sabha on August 16, 2005, passed the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Bill, 2004, giving daughters and sons equal rights to property. According to this bill, any woman, irrespective of the marital status, has full right to inherit ancestral property just like a son of the family.
This bill, if approved, looks forward to completely abolishing the Hindu Succession Act 1956 by giving equal rights to daughters in the 'Hindu Mitakshara Coparcenary property', as sons have.

If however, any of the parents have built some property and have made a will of their own, this law would be ineffective. This law would stipulate a new, comprehensive and fair system of inheritance. The bill is yet to be passed. The country, apart from the laws, will have to change its attitude, its mindset, to come of this issue of inheritance.
Women empowerment, equal rights to both men and women, equal share of property, etc., are some of the issues one can find everyday, in newspaper and on television. The reality is that these issues are still issues. Not much has actually been done to create equality between the male and female gender. The male still dominates society.

If it’s a matter of property, then legally male dominates the society. There are numerous laws that say that there should be no discrimination between the sexes, but in reality none are effective enough to actually bring about a revolution; a change in society.

The Hindu Enactment Act, 1956, established that women have equal inheritance rights, as men; and it abolished life estate of female heirs. However, this law could not do the needful as there was another law, the Mitakshara coparcenary that overruled the previous law.

According to Mitakshara coparcenary, in a joint family, a daughter will get a small share of property compared to the son. While the father’s property is shared equally between brother and sister; the brother, in addition, is entitled to a share in the coparcenary from which the sister is excluded. If the family owned a dwelling house, the daughter’s right is confined only to the right of residence and not possession or ownership.

The Hindu Succession [Andhra Pradesh] Amendment Act, 1985, made a remarkable development. This law stated that the rights of the daughter are equal to that of the son, in any circumstances. This law found the Mitakshara system is in violation of the fundamental right of equality. The States of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Kerala have also amended the law by including women as members of the coparcenary. This law is not applicable in the whole country.(Courtesy: Properties.in)