Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

As property prices jump, more Indian women claim inheritance

RISING property prices in parts of India have helped achieve what women's rights groups have tried and failed to do for decades - get more women to claim their inheritance.

A 2005 law gave Hindu women across India equal inheritance rights but few have made claims because they are unaware of the law, or have been forced to give up their claims by male family members, according to analysts.


But an increase in property prices near the Indian capital, New Delhi, has pushed more women in Haryana state to claim their share, gender and land rights experts said today (13).

"Despite laws that give rights of inheritance to women, low levels of education and a strong patriarchal tradition can rob women of these rights," said Prem Chowdhry, a gender expert who has researched women's inheritance in Haryana.

"But because prices of land have sky-rocketed in these areas, women are being pushed by their husbands or fathers-in-law to claim their share of the family property, or at least be compensated in some way for it," she said on the sidelines of a land conference in New Delhi.

Property prices in the three Haryana cities that are closest to Delhi have risen by more than half in the past decade as more migrants flocked to the capital and transport links improved, according to Anarock, an Indian property consultant.

Amendments in 2005 to the Hindu Succession Act, which governs matters of inheritance among Hindus - who make up about 80 percent of India's population - made women's inheritance rights equal to those of men.

Yet in several states in northern and western India, the custom of "haq tyag", or sacrifice of right, is practised, where a woman relinquishes her claim on ancestral property.

The tradition is justified on the grounds that the father pays for his daughter's wedding and often also gives a dowry, and therefore only the sons are entitled to the family property.

While haq tyag is voluntary, women come under enormous pressure to comply to maintain their relations with their families, Chowdhry told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Although there is no official data on inheritance claims made by women in India, only 13 percent of farmland is owned by women, according to the latest census data from 2011.

In a bid to address the imbalance, several states including Haryana - which has amongst the worst gender imbalances in the country - have lowered registration charges and taxes when a property is in the name of a woman.

These changes have done little to improve women's property ownership rates, said Govind Kelkar, a senior advisor to the global land rights advocacy group Landesa.

While agreeing that rising property prices could push more women to claim their inheritance, Kelkar said women still had little control over the property they inherited.

"There can also be an increase in violence against women," she said. "The patriarchal tradition is so strong that women, who themselves own property, when asked if they will leave it to their daughter, still say no."

 (Reuters)

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less