A matter of two shares: A daughter's claim to patrilineal property in rural north India

Examines constraints on female inheritance in rural areas of northern India, based on fieldwork conducted 1985-1995. Under the traditional patrilineal inheritance system, daughters do not receive a share of the inheritance, & while the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 gave women inheritance rights equal to men, sociocultural restraints continue to prevent daughters from claiming property they have legally inherited. These restraints emphasize that property inherited by a daughter becomes the property of her husband's family, & thus is lost to her natal family, reinforce sister-brother bonds as sisters relinquish rights of inheritance in favor of the brother, & substitute dowry for inheritance claims. Attempts by women to assert their legal rights of inheritance are seen as threats to the patriarchal system & result in increased efforts by men to control women's rights. Moves to abolish the 1956 Act are discussed. J. Ferrari