Published Paper Details:

The colonial laws enacted by the British government in India to reform the status of women, particularly widows, were primarily based on contradictions. The property laws (mitakshara and dayabhaga) favoured men and deprived women of their rights to family property. Under Hindu law, women were excluded from legal ownership of joint family property. This paper argues that the colonial laws enacted to protect the rights of widows were silent on their economic position. For instance, the Hindu Widow's Remarriage Act (HWRA), 1856, passed to legalise Hindu widow's marriage, had an 'economic disability'. Section 2 of HWRA disinherited widows upon their marriage. The Anglo-Indian Courts applied Section 2 to many lower-caste widows who had a prior custom of remarriage. This provision brought women into litigation as the families of deceased husbands used Section 2 against the widows. However, almost after a decade, efforts were made to change the oppressive laws that deprived women of their rights in the estate.