Dowry- A Substitute for Inheritance for Women in South Asia

“You have to sign these documents,” said the brother indifferently.

Slowly making her head up, she glanced at the papers. Her face vividly depicted the turmoil she had been through… After her father died a few days ago, she didn’t even get the time to process the grief since she was a mother too, and had to be strong.

“What are these papers about?” She asked her brother numbly who was sitting in front of her holding a file of papers.

“These are the documents of inheritance saying that you do not want to take anything from the property that our father left,” he replied.

“But when”…….

“You got your fair share when my husband arranged for your dowry”, snapped her brother’s wife cutting her short.

“Dowry? But, what did I make out of my dowry? Those clothes…. are just hanging in the closets. That furniture… is still in the storeroom and the appliances….all used by my in-laws. What use are they for me?” She glanced at her brother with utter despair but he kept looking sidewards with a cold expression.

“I don’t know, But, they certainly cost me something”! Her brother said plainly now looking downwards, still not making eye contact with her.

“Moreover, I don’t want my property going in the name of your husband so better sign these soon.”

“Brother, don’t I have a share in it too?” She murmured after gaining a bit of courage.                

“I am afraid I would have to say that you should never come back here again. I am your brother and you are doing this to me and our family. If you don’t care, then don’t declare yourself a family member”. His brother threw the file and stormed out saying the words that her mind was not ready to accept.

She couldn’t believe what she just heard. She gazed at him going out of that door with his wife mumbling something in his ears. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she picked up the blue file lying steadily at the table.

Sounds familiar? Isn’t it? Because every other woman’s worth, not only in Pakistani society but in entire South Asia is directly proportional to the dowry she brings for her in-laws but when it comes to her right of inheritance, she is frowned upon and is considered selfish. Dowry is given as an alternative to what she owns legally and rightfully in her inheritance.

This phenomenon is not only customary in low-income, uneducated families but also the families residing in posh areas with foreign credentials. Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even Muslim families in mainly North-western provinces of China practice it.

The practice of depriving women of their property rights takes place more subtly in highly educated or rich families, inflicting emotional pain through blackmailing and threats to disband her.

Despite the fact that a woman is claiming a legitimate right, the money of inheritance becomes a bone of contention in the family and compels her to fight for it. But most women, not possessing the nerve for the feud, give up and step back.

In this regard, an eye-opening study by Eatzaz, 2012 reveals the attitudes of parents towards women’s right of inheritance in Pakistan. According to this study, 86.9% of parents do not intend to give their daughters any legal share in their property and 52.86% believed women should not have any property on their name. When asked from females, the prime cause for such an attitude, nearly 70% of the respondents were of the opinion that by giving dowry at the time of marriage, they fulfill their responsibility as parents and they don’t even dare to ask for inheritance as it would create a dispute which they cannot afford due to uncertainty in their marital life and solely relying on brothers for support in times of need. Thus, they forego their legal right to escape a clash.

Mehdi (2002) reports various cases in Pakistan, where properties are registered in the woman’s name on inheritance papers but they do not acquire it in practice. Not just in Pakistan but women globally undergo such an experience.

McCreery (1976), for instance, mentions that women in China obtaining dowry do not enjoy the same rights as someone attaining an inheritance. Similarly, Brown and Chowdhury (2002) mention that dowry is commonly substituted for inheritance in West Bengal, India.

The plight of Pakistani women is that they do not even have the basic knowledge of their rights defined by the religion especially Islam or state laws. This insulting and deplorable act is being committed to trading daughters identical to a material good and they yet have to uncover the contrariety of the favor and their legal right.

Islam dissuades anything given in the name of dowry and distinctly asserts women’s rightful share in the family property. The Holy Quran; the main source of Islamic law clearly states women rights to inheritance i.e. equal to 1⁄2 of that of her brother that there is no space left for any other interpretation .the verse (4:7) of the Quran reads,

“Men shall have a share in what parents and kinsfolk leave behind, and women shall have a share in what parents and kinsfolk leave behind.”

The sheer hypocrisy of mullah community becomes evident here when it stays silent in places where Islam gives women their due rights. On the other hand, when the Punjab government passed an act named Punjab Protection of women against violence act 2016 the mullahs created a hue and cry over it and asked the state to implement Sharia laws. In short, they play dumb on the implementation of those Sharia laws which emancipate women.

Socio-legal scholars and women rights advocates have also pressed on the link between gender inequality and access to property rights. In fact, the aforementioned notion and the statistics indicate that gender inequality is the major reason why the social practice of giving dowry in exchange of legal right of parental property is highly prevalent in South Asian countries with high levels of gender inequality. The higher the gender inequality the lower the women will have access to property rights. Ironically speaking, Pakistan stands 148 out of 149 countries in Gender Gap Index (GGI) by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 2018, whereas, India ranks at 108th, Sri Lanka 100th, Nepal 105^th with only Bangladesh at 48^th position i.e. slightly better in South Asia.

In Pakistan, according to Section 5 of the Dowry and Bridal Gift Restriction Act 1976, “All property given as dowry or gifts and all property given to the bride as a present shall vest absolutely in the bride, and her interest in the property however derived shall hereafter not be restrictive, conditional or limited”. But, no specific penalty under this law was set for not complying with the aforesaid prohibition that, dowry does not, in any way mean the repeal of the right to inheritance. Consequently, the dowry becomes the property of the groom and his family whereas women are excluded from their right to inherit which leaves them with literally nothing. Similarly, the prevention of anti-women practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Act, 2011, also does not contain any distinct section that prohibits disinheritance due to the pledge of dowry.

Advocate Surkhail Ali Sarwar, the member of Punjab Bar Council, was contacted to comment on the reasons behind the high prevalence of this issue in Pakistan. According to him, the main flaw is the presence of contradictory legislation derived from English and Shariah laws which become the basis of giving every chance to the perpetrators to seize woman’s legal right and then escape prosecution. Moreover, the failure of the state administration to implement the laws through law enforcement agencies exacerbates this situation.

A study conducted by Aurat foundation (2015) in Pakistan, stated that the police is unaware of the legal provisions prohibiting women’s rights like forced marriages and the depriving them of their right to inheritance involving deceit and blackmailing.

The condition is no different in India. As more men migrate to urban areas with prospects to earn a better livelihood, the ratio of women working in fields has grown up to 80% but when the right of owning their due share in the land comes they are deprived of their legal right.

A study by the United Nations states that in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the number of women inheriting land is slightly better i.e. 34% of the state’s sample whereas, in Bihar, the ratio is only 8% and in Madhya Pradesh, it is low to an appalling extent of only7%. India.

Since 2005, Hindu Succession Act (including Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains) has given equal right of inheritance to the daughters of undivided families but the implementation of the law is quite weak in the country as the statistics specify. The deeply rooted gender bias has deprived the women of their property rights especially those who are given heavy dowry.

The study by the UN found that women, when interviewed, said that they themselves give up their rights in the property to keep family bonds intact.

In Indian society this tradition of giving up property is called “Haq Tayaq”, which is executed on the foundation of family paying for the daughter’s dowry on her marriage and in turn, distributing the share among the male heirs of the family. Moreover, it is believed in Indian society that a married woman belongs to the clan of her husband and therefore has no claim in father’s property.

Bangladesh’s system of inheritance falls under personal law which individually varies with the religion of the citizen. Thus, Muslim women have their right of inheritance as per sharia laws but the issue discussed before remains the same, “Good-sister syndrome” as many Bangladeshi activists call it. Sisters don’t tend to even demand their right of inheritance, burdened by the favor of dowry.

Men are not only ones to blame here, an interview with Ambreen, a 48-year-old Housewife from Lahore, Pakistan, suggested that women also lean to snatch other women’s rights where they find opportunity. Talking to shirkat Gah, she voiced her distress as, “My mother and brother’s wife forced me to give up my right in property since I was given a heavy dowry and a car at the time of marriage. From the last 20 years, my entire dowry has rotten after years old usage by my in-laws and the car was sold 5 years ago after being used by my husband. The question is what I have owned in this process; neither my dowry nor my property upon which I have legal right.”

Thus, in South Asian societies especially Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, etc women are caught up in the vicious cycle of disgrace, deprivation, misconceptions, lack of implementations of emancipatory laws and ignorance leading to gender-based structural and even direct violence.

However, some structural reforms are the need of an hour to empower women in our societies. For this, Minimizing the lacunae in the legislation on women’s right to inheritance and relevant harsher penalties will have to be introduced where required.

The judicial and criminal justice system need to be ramped up in all south Asian states especially in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh for high conviction rates.

Empowering women will directly help uplift socio-economic and even political spheres of these countries ultimately making their way for developed and civilized nations.

The emancipation of women will assist in elevating the performance of South Asia in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). For this, the South Asian countries can use the platform of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for eliminating gender discriminatory practices like frowning upon women’s right to property.

A counter-narrative with the help of the civil society and media is the need of the hour to create awareness regarding the importance and positive effects of the emancipation of women on the overall social fabric of the South Asian society. To sum up, these, long term structural reforms are mandatory so that women are given RIGHTS not FAVOURS.