Ensuring Equity: Safeguarding Property Rights and Empowering Hindu Widows in Vrindavan
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Abstract
Since the inception of modern civilization, women have been subjected to outrageous injustices and discrimination. Treated as the second sex, they have faced neglect and oppression in the hands of the patriarchal society. In spite of various welfare programs, amelioration campaigns and emancipation drives, the lives of women, especially widows, at the grass root levels in India is wretched and desolate. The death of the spouse strips them of protection and partnership. Amidst the chaos of social ostracism and cultural taboos, financial hardships cripple widows and exposes them to the throes of exploitation. This paper seeks to bring justice home for the Hindu widows in Vridanvan, who are deprived of their land, forced from their homes and denied equal inheritance and maintenance rights. The paper will examine the provisions of Hindu personal laws, the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007, the Domestic Violence Act of 2005, and the provisions of the Indian Constitution in order to reflect on their lacunae and implementation failures with respect to Hindu widows. The paper will also explore various alternative ways of protecting property rights of widows in the event of statutory failure.