The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c13.71

c13.71

Hindu jurists were, however, unanimous in giving to women full proprietary rights over the Strīdhana in its narrower sense. They have expressly declared that the husband has no right to lay his hands upon it. If he was compelled to utilise it for his own purposes, he had to return it with interest¹. If, however, the family was in great distress, the husband could utilise his wife's Strīdhana to tide over the difficulty. No other member of the family, however, could do so. Jurists differ as to whether the Strīdhana utilised by the husband to meet abnormal times was to be returned back to the wife. Yājñavalkya thinks that it need not be repaid¹. Kātyāyana holds that if the husband had promised to return it, he ought to keep his word². An agreement to constitute Strīdhana made by the husband was binding on his estate; if he died without completing it, his next heirs were required to carry it out³.