Law and Humanities
Quarterly Reviews
ISSN 2827-9735
Published: 23 October 2024
Women’s Property and Inheritance Rights: Application of Laws from the Perspective of Two Major Religions in Bangladesh
Nasrin Sultana Shuborna
BRAC University, Bangladesh
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10.31014/aior.1996.03.04.131
Pages: 14-25
Keywords: Women, Subjugation, Patriarchal, Inheritance, Non-existent, Equality, Bangladesh
Abstract
Since the establishment of Bangladesh in 1971, the Government has been committed to providing equal rights and opportunities for women through laws laid down in the constitution. Since independence, while many policies have been implemented to ensure women's empowerment, unfortunately, they continue to face obstacles in inheritance rights. While there are laws in place for both Hindu and Muslim families to ensure the proper distribution of property, in practice, these laws are not rigorous or sufficient to allow women to take charge of their rightful shares, thus depriving them of one pathway to financial independence. Furthermore, due to socio-cultural pressures, women are also unable to demand their rights effectively. When compared to the past, Bangladesh is progressing well in terms of women's empowerment and establishing gender parity in society, but establishing and ensuring absolute ownership of property for women will help us achieve the target within a short time. The purpose of this paper will be to provide a broad survey of existing laws and discuss possible solutions to address prevailing discrimination to bring about full property rights for women in Bangladesh (although this issue affects Shia and Ahmadiyya women in Bangladesh in terms of percentage, they constitute a very small community. Therefore, they are outside the stated scope of the study).
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