No country for women. AP Photo/Kevin Frayer
In
Goa, a Hindu man can remarry if his previous wife does not give birth
to any male children till the age of 30. And this law is just the tip of
the sanctioned sexism across India.
A recent UN report lists all the ways laws officially support men over women. Quartz culled through and found the worst offenders:
Hindu laws of inheritance:
Right now different religions have different personal laws that
regulate inheritance, marriage, separation and guardianship in India. In
the case of Hindus, the property of a woman who dies without a will is
handled differently from that of a man. In the absence of spouse and
children, the husband’s heirs inherit the woman’s estate.
“Even
if the deceased woman was ill treated in her marital home, her
husband’s mother or father will get her property instead of her own
mother or father,” says Kirti Singh, the family and property lawyer who
authored the UN report .
Parsi laws of inheritance: Despite shrinking
numbers, Parsis still penalize those who marry outside their
community—and it’s allowed. A non-Parsi woman who is either a wife or
widow of a Parsi cannot inherit. Their children still can, although
those born to a Parsi woman married to a non-Parsi man are not
considered part of the community.
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act:
The marriage of a 1-year-old or 10-year-old is valid. The law only
prevents the marriages of children; it does not render them illegal once
they actually happen. According to the UN, this is one of the main
reasons why the custom still flourishes in rural ares.
The
married children, however, have the right to declare it void. A
woman can call off a marriage until she turns 20, whereas a man has till
age 23.
Age of consent:
Sexual intercourse with a girl below the age of 18 is considered rape.
But since child marriages are not illegal, a man can legally have sex
with his wife even if she is a minor, as long as she is above the age of
15. Further, marital rape is not criminalised in India.
Rape of a separated wife:
The rape of a separated wife carries lesser punishment than the rape of
any other woman. Forced sexual intercourse with the former is
punishable with two to seven years of imprisonment. Prison sentence for
the rape of any other woman ranges from seven years to life.
Marriageable age: The
minimum age for marriage for a boy is 21, but 18 for a girl. This is a
legal extension of the patriarchal mindset that believes that a wife
should always be younger than the man.
Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act:
Women are still not equal guardians of their children. A father is
considered the “natural guardian” of a child, although the custody of
offspring under the age of 5 will ordinarily be awarded to the mother.
The Goa Law on polygamy:
A law recognises the second marriage of “Gentile Hindu” man of Goa if
his previous wife does not have any children before age 25 or if she
does not have a male children by 30.
The new BJP government has promised a uniform civil law applicable to all Indians, irrespective of religion. But it also holds up Goan Cvil Code as the model to be enforced all over the country. This polygamy provision hardly makes it upstanding.
No right to marital property: Upon
separation or divorce, an Indian woman is the entitled only to
maintenance from her husband. She has no right on the assets, such as
house or commercial property, bought in her husband’s name during the
marriage. So if she leaves him or gets divorced, even years after the
marriage, she is potentially without assets. Indian government policies
do not consider the work done at home by a woman as having an economic
value.