which is under state jurisdiction, not governed by the Constitution under a uniform law that guarantees fundamental rights of equality to all citizens, and thus inheritance rights tend to discriminate against women. And the second is, land and property ownership by women in India’s patriarchal societies is prevented by the deep-rooted cultural ethos.” In many states, Indian inheritance laws are enacted according to religious laws. Muslims and Christians have their own sets of property laws and treat women differently than provided in the amended Hindu Succession Act (Valera et al. 2018). The existence of several parallel property inheritance laws opens up space for gender bias in land and property ownership.

It is important to note that, for all religions in India, inheritance and property ownership laws cover only the two historically dominant genders: female and male. These laws’ specifics do not define or consider the property rights of other genders, such as those identifying with the various LGBT<sup>9</sup> communities. This study therefore reflects and refers only to the binary male and female genders as they are considered in Indian laws regarding property-related taxes.

# 2. Literature review

## 2.1 Benefits of female property ownership

Evidence shows that women who have property in their own names feel empowered and that their property ownership can have a transformative effect on their lives and those of their families and children (Lahoti and Swaminathan 2016). Lahoti and Swaminathan’s research in Karnataka, for example, shows that owning a house or a plot of agricultural land enhances a female’s ability to travel to the market, health center, and other places outside the community and to make independent decisions about their employment, health, and use of money. Research by Doss (2013), too, finds evidence that women’s education, incomes, and assets all are important aspects of women's bargaining power and that these effects are important both for a female's own welfare and that of her children, confirming earlier findings that women’s property improves the welfare outcomes of the entire household (Doss et al. 2011). Inequality in ownership, control, and use of productive assets can impede females’ control over household resources and spending decisions, with welfare implications for future generations (World Bank 2012). Similar findings are reported by Valera et al. (2018), who find, based on a unique rural household survey from Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal, that land title ownership by females has positive effects on their participation in decisions about farming, livelihoods, and household activities. Additionally, research by Oduro et al. (2015) conducted in Ecuador and Ghana shows that property ownership by females is also instrumental in reducing violence against them. The study finds that females who have a larger share of their couple’s wealth are significantly less likely to suffer physical violence in Ecuador and emotional violence in Ghana.

> 9. The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, or the gay community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, LGBT organizations, and subcultures.

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