The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c14.2

c14.2

We shall now continue our story of the development of the proprietary rights of women. We surveyed in the last chapter the position of the wife, *vis-a-vis* her husband, regarding the ownership of the family property, and discussed the evolution of Strīdhana. It was all along a story of gradual but continuous progress. In this chapter we shall discuss the rights of inheritance and partition, which are undoubtedly more important than the right to Strīdhana. As already shown in previous chapters, the angle of vision with which the daughter, the wife and the widow were looked upon varied in different ages. Naturally therefore, the development of their rights of inheritance and partition proceeded on different lines. It would be therefore convenient to discuss it separately. The present chapter is therefore divided into four sections; the first three deal with the rights of inheritance of the daughter, the widow and other female relations respectively, and the last one with the rights at partition.