The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c13.82

c13.82

In patriarchal societies there is a general prejudice against property passing to female heirs; so this principle of allowing Strīdhana to devolve on daughters did not appeal to a large section of Hindu community. As long as Strīdhana consisted of a few gifts given at the time of the marriage, its devolution upon daughters did not meet with much opposition. In course of time, however, gifts given by the husband during the married life came to be included in Strīdhana. The motive of the husband was no doubt to provide the wife against a rainy day, but he rarely intended to do so at the cost of his sons. His usual expectation was that the property should pass on to his sons after the death of his wife. Some jurists therefore felt that the most equitable course was to allow both the sons and the daughters to inherit the Strīdhana of their mother. This course is recommended by Manu²; we may well presume that he is very probably referring to the Strīdhana property given by the husband, though he does not say so in so many words. The Bengal, Mithilā, Madras and Gujarat schools of the Hindu Law rely upon the above view of Manu, when they lay down that Strīdhana consisting of gifts received from the husband subsequent to the marriage should devolve equally upon daughters and sons¹.