DAUGHTER AS A COPARCENER : A STEP TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY

DAUGHTER AS A COPARCENER: A STEP TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY?

ABSTRACT?

The Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005, proved to be a landmark in the nature of gender equity in the Indian context, more so, in the case of laws on succession and inheritance. It is amply clear at the very outset that this new dispensation of law made daughters equally entitled to coparcenary rights which male members used to enjoy under a Hindu Undivided Family before the amendment. This paper would discuss the effect from imparting equal coparcenary rights to daughters regarding how such legislative reforms have played a contributory role in empowering women. It also discusses the socio-legal challenges that still survive despite making this progressive amendment and elaborates on the scope for future reforms. The conferment of a coparcenary status to daughters is thus not merely a legal adjustment; it is a more important step towards the rectification of historical gender bias in Hindu law.

KEYWORDS: Coparcener, Gender Equality, Hindu Succession Act, Inheritance Rights, Legal Reforms

INTRODUCTION

The Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005, was one step in the long journey toward the creation of gender equality in India. It accorded coparceners' status to daughters and made them coequal with sons in matters relating to inheritance. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, prior to this amendment, had embedded in it the perpetuation of gender inequality with respect to daughters' incapacity to coparcenary property—a preserve limited under that Act only to male members of the Hindu Undivided Family. The legislation that the Amendment brought about in 2005 was an attempt at rectification of this injustice and pointed toward a tectonic shift in the legal landscape toward increased gender parity.

The background of the amendment, its history, and the legal implications both of recognizing daughters as coparceners and challenges still remaining in this process toward full realization of gender equality in inheritance laws are entertained herein. The specific coverage of this paper is some of the most important judicial pronouncements that bring out the need for this legal reform in women's rights in India and analyzes the impact of the amendment on societal norms.

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF COPARENCY RIGHTS

Under Hindu law, a coparcenary is a small unit within a Hindu Undivided Family that comprises male members who are joint owners of family property. In the past, coparcenary rights were acquired by birth, while the inheritance was restricted only to male descendants. This thus meant that while sons automatically became coparceners upon birth, daughters did not and remained non-coparceners. While a daughter was entitled to a share in family property after the demise of her father, this was often subjected to a number of conditions and limitations since she was not a coparcener.

This needed the milestone legislation, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, for a first-ever attempt at codification and reform of Hindu inheritance laws in what fell much short of gender parity by retaining the traditional system excluding daughters as coparceners. Indeed, this law represented deep-seated patriarchal thinking that considered property ownership to be a male preserve. This, besides entrenching further gender inequality, had the legal effect to entrench such socio-cultural norms that relegated women to an insignificant position in regard to inheritance.

THE HINDU SUCCESSION (AMENDEMENT) ACT,2005

One such epochal legal reform taken to rectify the gender bias in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, was the Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005. It gave daughters coparcenary rights like sons and added their being a coparcener by birth in their own right. This provided that daughters now had an equal share in the joint family property and could demand partition just like their male counterparts.

The amendment thus marked a big step toward gender equality, recognizing daughters' rights to inherit family property at par with sons. It has, at the same time, symbolized a broad trend of social transformation for the recognition of women's rights and their empowerment. In this context, it is by granting coparcenary rights to daughters that the amendment has opened up the possibility for challenging deep-seated patriarchal norms that had traditionally denied women an equal share in the family property.

JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION AND IMPACT?

The judicial interpretation of the Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005, has played a very significant role in shaping the implementation and effect of the law. The other leading judgment in this regard is that of the Supreme Court in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma, wherein the Court held that a daughter is a coparcener by birth, irrespective of whether her father was alive at the time of making the amendment. This judgment has established the retrospective effect of the amendment and reinstated the equal rights of daughters in inheriting coparcenary property.

The judgment in Vineeta Sharma was of huge consequence in that it had, at last, ended the uncertainty over the applicability of the amendment and had ensured daughters their rightful share in family property. The verdict was widely acclaimed as a welcome step to further gender justice and served as a reiteration of equality and nondiscrimination principles enshrined in the Constitution.

Positive developments notwithstanding, this amendment has not been immune from challenges to its implementation. In large parts of the country, particularly in rural India, societal norms and customs are still the biggest drag on women's inheritance rights. The patriarchal mindset that treats property as a male preserve persists, and there is resistance to the enforcement of the law. Moreover, a lack of awareness and education among women relative to their legal rights only serves to make the problem worse, with many women being left unable to claim their rightful share of the family property.

CHALLENGES AND WAY FORWARD?

Though the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, has been a landmark step toward gender equality, the struggle for complete attainment of those rights remains far from being accomplished. The foremost and first challenge is that of patriarchal mindset and traditions, which still continue to dominate the mindset of people toward women's inheritance rights. In most cases, families still stick to the tradition of transferring property to male members by making wills or convincing daughters to surrender their share in favor of their brothers.

A more significant challenge is the lack of legal awareness amongst women. Most of the women, especially in rural areas, may not even know that they are coparceners. Even if some know, social pressure comes to bear on them to give up their claim to the family property. Rather, greater legal education and awareness campaigns are needed for empowering women to assert their rights.

In that respect, the legal regime will have to be consolidated with the proper working order of the Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005. This would require a mix of legal reform, generating public awareness of the issues involved, and building capacities. The judiciary also has a very important role to ensure that the law is interpreted and worked in aid of principles of gender justice.

CONCLUSION

Recognition of daughters as coparceners under the Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005, is a step toward realization of gender equality in India. It is in total contradiction to the several hundreds of years old patriarchal tradition that had been denying the women equal share and stake in the family property, and newer avenues of empowerment for the women have been opened. The road to real gender equality remains long, with much more work to be done to translate legal rights into actual benefits for women in their daily lives.

Only a consolidated legal reform, requiring a social change, will an evolving India make a major appeal for large cooperation of the government, the judiciary, civil society, and the common community. It is on this note that India shall begin to cultivate the culture fostering gender equity and empower all women to exercise their legal rights toward moving the country closer to attaining justice and equity for all citizens.

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WRITTEN BY: PAYAL DEVNANI?