Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Gender Equality Law 2

Policy views

Features of HAS, 2005

In the first place, the 2005 Act deletes the gender discriminatory Section 4(2) of the 1956 HSA. The present Act brings all agricultural lands on par with other property and makes Hindu women’s inheritance rights in land legally equal to men across states. The existing State laws are thus made inoperable before the present Act.

Next, the 2005 Act includes all daughters co-parceners in joint family property. Though this act does not separate property (except broadening the class I heirs) it includes daughters as co-parceners in the mitakshara joint family property. The female heirs (such as daughters, widows and mothers) are given the same birth rights as equivalent to sons to shares, to claim partition and to become ‘karta’ while also sharing the liabilities.

The 2005 Act includes the heirs of predeceased sons and daughters more equal as Class I heirs two generations of children pre-deceased daughters. It was already the case for sons and all daughters have the same rights as son to reside in or seek partition of the family dwelling house. More over re-married daughters also are given the right to inherit the deceased property. These two reformations have been done by deleting the Sections 23 and 24 of the 1956 HAS.

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