Inheritance rights of Hindu, Muslim, Christian women are not the same

The roles and rights of women have always been dynamic. Women's position has improved drastically due to increase in social awareness regarding women empowerment, rise in literacy rates and women becoming more independent than ever before. Not only this, even the Indian judicial system has taken major strides in the right direction with numerous laws and enactments, that treat women equal to men. It has now become very crucial that a woman, whether working or a homemaker, knows and understands her rights well and exercise the same when required.

One of such rights are the women's inheritance rights which are governed by the succession laws applicable to an individual.

Rights of Hindu women: The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, governs the succession and inheritance laws for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. Section 14 of the said Act specifies the types of property that can be inherited by a woman and are considered to be her property. A Hindu woman has the same right to her deceased parents' property as that of a Hindu male. Similarly, there is no distinction between the rights of a man and a woman, when it comes to the inheritance of property from a deceased parent. In fact, a woman, being the mother, is entitled to an equal share as the wife and children of her son who has died intestate. This is, however, not the case with the father, as the father is not entitled to get any share in his son's property during the lifetime of his son's wife, mother, and children.

It is also important to note that the inheritance rights of a married daughter are exactly the same as that of an unmarried one. Both are entitled to the same part of inheritance as their male siblings. The Apex Court has also recognised women as coparceners or joint legal heirs, for partition of the ancestral property.

Rights of Muslim women: Under Muhammadan law, there is no distinction between ancestral and self-acquired property. A Muslim woman governed by the Muslim Personal Law, is entitled to get 1/8th share of her husband's property if the couple had children, else she gets 1/4th share. When the parents of a Muslim woman die, even daughters become the rightful legal heirs of their estate. However, the quantum of the share of a female heir is half of that of the male heirs.

Right of Christian, Parsi and Jew women: In case of Christians, Parsis and Jews, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 is applicable. A Christian woman is entitled to a pre-determined share. The amount of that share depends on the identity of the other relatives of the deceased. If deceased has left children, his widow receives one-third of his estate, with the remaining going to the children. And if the heirs are relatives other than the children, she receives a half of the estate, and the remainder goes to the other relatives of the deceased. If there are neither children nor other relatives, she receives the entire property.

A Parsi widow is entitled to get an equal share as her children besides the deceased's parents who get half of the child's share, in her husband's estate. And in the absence of the parents, the property is distributed between the Parsi woman and her children, so that the widow and each child receive equal shares in the estate of the deceased.

Looking at all the Succession laws prevalent in India, it is clear that the lawmakers have tried to protect the interests of the woman and whether a wife, mother or a daughter, a woman is legally entitled to get some share in the property of her loved ones as illustrated above. Though our legislature and judiciary have made it possible for the women to claim their inheritance rights without putting the limitations of marriage and religion, it is on us, the women, to be aware and proactive in exercising our rights and demanding what legally belongs to us. Awareness of rights and the courage to claim them are the only weapons that can help the women in resisting any injustice that is meted out to her at home, at work, or in society at large.

(The author is Managing Director of Ladderup Wealth Management.)