My friend’s mother passed away recently. Soon after her brother asked her to sign a couple of documents relinquishing her share completely. I asked her why she submitted passively into this act of foregoing her share, when even the law allows daughters the right to inherit their parents’ property. All she said was “for the sake of family harmony… I want to maintain my relationship with whoever is left of my family now, at any cost.” All this even when she herself (and husband) had invested into a premium apartment and often felt cash strapped whenever the hefty annual instalment had to be paid to the builder. But she did what had to be done – making a few appearances in courts and registration authorities and signing a series of papers – all for “maintaining family bonds.”
Women are often brought up with the notion that they do not have a claim over ancestral property, which is meant to stay within the “male lineage.” There is often an expectation that women, especially daughters, should prioritize family harmony over their legal rights. Claiming inheritance can be seen as a challenge to family unity or as “greedy” behaviour. Believe it or not, many families perceive the dowry or marriage expenses given to a daughter as her share of the inheritance, thus dissuading her from claiming property rights.
But does the law say about women’s rights to inheritance? Yes, women in India can inherit property, but the specifics depend on the religion, personal laws, and recent legal amendments. For Hindus (including Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists), the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 governs property inheritance. The 2005 amendment to this Act was a landmark step toward gender equality. Daughters have the same rights as sons in inheriting ancestral property. They are recognized as coparceners (joint-heirs) in a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and have equal rights in ancestral property. The daughter’s right to property is independent of her marital status. Whether she is married or unmarried, she retains her rights. Even after the father’s death, a daughter retains her rights in the property.
For Muslims, property inheritance is governed by personal law (Sharia). Women can inherit property, but the share is typically half that of a male counterpart (e.g., a son receives double the share of a daughter). A widow is also entitled to a share of her husband’s property. The division of property is based on principles laid out in the Quran, and the shares vary depending on the number of heirs.
For Christians, Parsis, and those who don’t fall under Hindu, Muslim, or other religious personal laws, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 applies. Under this Act, men and women have equal rights to inherit property.
Several Supreme Court rulings in recent years have reinforced women’s rights to inherit property. For example, a landmark judgment in August 2020 clarified that daughters have equal rights in ancestral property, regardless of whether the father was alive or deceased before the 2005 amendment.
But rights and duties go hand in hand. Both sons and daughters are equally responsible for the emotional, physical, mental well being of their parents. Daughters claiming equal rights must shoulder equal responsibility when it comes to their parents. One can’t play the “traditional” card (of sons having full responsibility) and the “modernity” card (of daughters having equal rights) as per convenience. These double standards will not work, and that is simply being not true to oneself. Also when the son is not able to keep parents due to any issues of being outside the country or an unsupportive spouse etc, the daughters have to take the lead and initiative. If we embrace modernity of “equal rights” we must embrace “equal responsibility” in the same breath.
