She Comes to Take Her Rights : Indian Women, Property, and Propriety

Using the contemporary workings of property law in India through the lives and thoughts of middle-class and poor women, this is a study of the ways in which cultural practices, and particularly notions of gender ideology, guide the workings of law. It urges a close reading of decisions by women that appear to be contrary to material interests and that reinforce patriarchal ideologies. Hailed as a radical moment for gender equality, the Hindu Succession Act was passed in India in 1956 theoretically giving Hindu women the right to equal inheritance of their parents’ self-acquired property. However, in the years since the act’s existence, its provisions have scarcely been utilized. Using interview data drawn from middle-class and poor neighborhoods in Delhi, this book explores the complexity of women’s decisions with regard to family property in this context. The book shows that it is not passivity, ignorance of the law, naiveté about wealth, or unthinking adherence to gender prescriptions that guides women’s decisions, but rather an intricate negotiation of kinship and an optimization of socioeconomic and emotional needs. An examination of recent legal cases also reveals that the formal legal realm can be hospitable to women’s rights-based claims, but judgments are still coded in terms of customary provisions despite legal criteria to the contrary. She Comes To Take Her Rights Contents List Of Illustrations List Of Tables Acknowledgments 1 Women, Law, And Property In India Women and Property The Power of Law on Women and in the "New" Nations Nominating Agents, Marking Resistance Camouflaging the Self: Methodological Choices and Other Fieldwork Angst The Three Delhi Neighborhoods Looking Ahead 2 Women and Property Inheritance Scant and Slippery Footholds Property Values The Significance of Class and Residence Women As Property Owners Property Distribution and Marital Status Relative Wealth Non-Hindu Women and Property Blocking Women's Inheritance "Hishabey to Ami Pai" ("Well. I Get It According to the Calculations"): Shipra's Family Property Conclusion: Stable Systems of Disentitlement 3 Gifts for Alliance Marriage and the Flow of Goods Setting Up Matches: Gifts for "Alliances" Only Wedding Ceremonies: The Framework for Gifts Jo dena hota hai (What Has to Be Given): The Nature and Parity of Wedding Gifts "Ladkiwale ko to dena hi parta hai" ("The Woman's Side Does Have to Give Things, of Course"): Issues... Paying for Weddings Protima's Life: The Instability of Marriage Conclusion: Marriage and the Transfer of Wealth 4 "Wo Ayee Hak Lene" ("There She Comes, to Take Her Rights") The Dreadful Specter of the Property-Ow... Multilayered Attitudes toward Natal Property and Women's Property Equal Love: Conceptions of Equitable Distribution ''Naihar Tut Hi Jaye" ("The Natal Home Is Broken for Me"): Fears of Natal Abandonment Property over Time: Dowry and Long-Term Help in Relation to Property Surrogate Sons: Brotherless Women Inherit Property Property as Payoff: Eldercare and Other Family Responsibilities Medha's Case: Complex Negotiations Conclusion: Multiple Positions, Optimal Compromises 5 Knowing Themselves Women's Attitudes toward Wealth and Well-Being Reconceptualizing Stridhan (Women's Wealth) Crucial Problems, Imagined Solutions The Shadow of the Legal Realm Conclusion: The Limits of Critical Analysis 6 Protecting Property Gendered Identity in the Indian Higher Courts Mise-en-scène: The Legislative Construction of Women's Property Rights Patterns of Authority Different Spaces for Daughters, Sons, and Wives Defining Religion, Faith, and Custom Conclusion: "Spoilt Darlings" and "Patient Packhorses"? 7 Conclusion Property and Propriety Appendix A Demographic Profiles and Property Ownership of Interview Respondents Appendix B Demographic Survey Questionnaire Interview Questionnaire Census Survey of Neighborhood: P... Interview Questionnaire Notes Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Women And Property Inheritance Chapter 3. Gifts For Alliance Chapter 4. "Wo Ayee Hak Lene"/"There She Comes to Take Her Rights" Chapter 5. Knowing Themselves Chapter 6. Protecting Property Chapter 7. Conclusion Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Z Examines the contemporary workings of property law in India through the lives and thoughts of middle-class and poor women.Using the contemporary workings of property law in India through the lives and thoughts of middle-class and poor women, this is a study of the ways in which cultural practices, and particularly notions of gender ideology, guide the workings of law. It urges a close reading of decisions by women that appear to be contrary to material interests and that reinforce patriarchal ideologies.Hailed as a radical moment for gender equality, the Hindu Succession Act was passed in India in 1956 theoretically giving Hindu women the right to equal inheritance of their parents'self-acquired property. However, in the years since the act's existence, its provisions have scarcely been utilized. Using interview data drawn from middle-class and poor neighborhoods in Delhi, this book explores the complexity of women's decisions with regard to family property in this context. The book shows that it is not passivity, ignorance of the law, naiveté about wealth, or unthinking adherence to gender prescriptions that guides women's decisions, but rather an intricate negotiation of kinship and an optimization of socioeconomic and emotional needs. An examination of recent legal cases also reveals that the formal legal realm can be hospitable to women's rights-based claims, but judgments are still coded in terms of customary provisions despite legal criteria to the contrary.Srimati Basu is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Depauw University.