She comes to take her rights
Subtitle: Indian women, property, and propriety
By: Srimati Basu.
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Albany, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 305
Subjects: Women's rights -- India; Women -- Legal status, laws, etc. (Hindu law); Sex role -- India; Property (Hindu law); Women -- India -- Social conditions; Women -- India -- Economic conditions
Description: Using the contemporary workings of property law in India through the lives and thoughts of middle-class and poor women, this is a study of the ways in which cultural practices, and particularly notions of gender ideology, guide the workings of law. It urges a close reading of decisions by women that appear to be contrary to material interests and that reinforce patriarchal ideologies.

Hailed as a radical moment for gender equality, the Hindu Succession Act was passed in India in 1956 theoretically giving Hindu women the right to equal inheritance of their parents' self-acquired property. However, in the years since the act's existence, its provisions have scarcely been utilized. Using interview data drawn from middle-class and poor neighborhoods in Delhi, this book explores the complexity of women's decisions with regard to family property in this context.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-297) and index.