It's My Home Too

In itself, the UPA government's efforts to amend an existing law to make Hindu women eligible for an equal share in ancestral property is historic. But women activists feel the bill that was passed in the Rajya Sabha on August 16 is deeply flawed. They say it excludes agricultural property from its ambit and that the bill is not applicable to already married women. Some male politicians too have been privately pointing out that the bill could lead to anti-women biases becoming sharper in a male-dominated society. The bill awaits passage in the Lok Sabha, on August 22.

Indeed, even Union law minister H.R. Bharadwaj, while moving the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha, admitted he had been warned of the adverse impact of this law on social harmony. As one male MP put it, "This bill is a bit of a hot potato like the Women's Reservation Bill—the women all support it. But many men have reservations about it, especially those from the north. Of course, publicly, very few will have the courage to oppose it."

The most telling comment on this came from the fact that the bill that was passed by a voice vote came at the end of the day in an almost empty house where barring one male MP, theDMK's R. Shanmugasundaram, the others were all women. Behind the scenes, political parties such as the Indian National Lok Dal and Shiromani Akali Dal have expressed their unhappiness with the bill, while there is evident disquiet in the two major parties, the Congress and theBJP.

With Sonia Gandhi's stamp on the bill, Congressmen can't be seen to be opposing the bill. But a party general secretary told Outlook he wished his party had considered the consequences of the bill as it could be used by "communal elements" to vitiate the situation by projecting it "as anti-Hindu". He also pointed out that in states such as Punjab where the male-female ratio is already skewed, the incidence of female foeticide could rise.

Meanwhile a seniorBJP functionary told Outlook, "We discussed the bill in the party and realised it would be politically incorrect to oppose it. But our MPs from western Uttar Pradesh and the northern states are not happy with it." (Thus far, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have already enacted laws to make Hindu women eligible for an equal share in ancestral property.)

Interestingly, when the bill was being discussed in the Rajya Sabha, women cutting across party lines said the bill would enhance the status of women and end the disgraceful practice of dowry, female foeticide and suppression of women in general. But clearly, this is a sanguine view. As lawyer and activist Kirti Singh says, "The banning of dowry was meant to improve the status of women and help to gradually end the heinous practice of female foeticide. But it did not. Legislation is only the first step—the next is to change the mindset." EchoesCPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat, "Our experience in the rural areas in southern states where an equal share in ancestral property is already a right is that very few women come forward. Many still relinquish property in favour of their brothers under pressure."

The Left parties are debating whether the flaws in the bill should be addressed through amendments when it comes for passage in the Lok Sabha. And whether they can convince the Congress to do so. If they succeed, then the bill will go a long way in giving women equal rights 58 years after Independence.