Sikkimese married women seek equitable inheritance right of property


Daughters of Sikkim soil petitions CM to retain their legal status


GANGTOK, September 6: A representation has been submitted to Chief Minister Pawan Chamling by Sikkimese women requesting equitable inheritance right of property at par with their male counterparts irrespective of their martial status.

A total of 58 local women under the banner of 'Daughters of the soil of Sikkim' today placed their collective grievance before the Chief Minister at Samman Bhavan and sought his intervention on the gender equality issue faced by married women of Sikkim.

"We are grateful to the government for extending property rights to women. But due to the prevailing laws handed down from feudal times, we are not able to fully enjoy our rights in this regard", said the petitioners.

The 'Daughters of the soil of Sikkim' pointed out to the Chief Minister that immovable property inherited, gifted or purchased by them cannot be transferred and registered in the names of local Sikkimese women after marriage. The immovable assets are also not registered or transferred to the legal heirs and children of Sikkimese women if their husbands happen to be non-locals.

"This is very demoralizing to us. Many of us have developed the assets gifted to us by our family by investing all our life's earnings and savings. It is but natural that as mothers we would like to see our children enjoy the fruits of our labour. However, under the existing laws, this is not possible. Such gender blind policies are discriminator", said the women group.

In their petition, the aggrieved Sikkimese women have requested the Chief Minister to come with dynamic gender friendly policies as provided under the Constitution as laid down in Articles 14, 15, 15(3), 16, 19 and 21 and 'set a model for the whole country'.

The memorandum also highlighted a legal judgement delivered by High Court of Sikkim in the case of Padma Ganeshan that the notification number 1962 concerning the married woman's property regulation was never enforced by the Maharaja of Sikkim. But even now, the registration authorities in a democratic setup follow this invalid notification, it claimed.

"The problem has been further compounded by the mandatory requirement for a Sikkimese woman to submit an 'unmarried certificate in all government procedures'. Even for matters like issue of employment card a Sikkimese woman has to prove her identity every six months which is highly unjust and biased", the memorandum states.

It was also pointed out to the Chief Minister that the Hindu Succession Act 1956 has been amended across the country allowing both sons and daughters equal share of their ancestral property. Women now have absolute rights to deal with their resources in whichever manner they desire and can transfer and buy property irrespective of their martial status, the petitioners said.

In their conclusion, the aggrieved lot expressed hopes that the Chief Minister would consider their grievances and treat the daughters of the soil at par with sons of the soil by restoring their rights under the Indian Constitution.

"The State must protect our children against all forms of discrimination. It is with belief in your benevolent justice that we, on behalf of all women similarly circumstanced, pray for your sympathetic consideration for framing laws protecting our rights", the Sikkimese women group said.

It was informed that the Chief Minister has given positive assurances that their grievances would be sympathetically looked into. He also informed the delegation that the Sikkim Democratic Front government has always given justice to all sections of society especially women.

(source;sikkim express)