The Discrimination and Anomaly in the Property Rights of Indian Women.

The article focuses on the discriminatory proviso in section 10 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, which restricts married women of certain minority religions (excluding Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism) from alienating property received through inter-vivos transactions, creating an anomaly compared to Hindu women's absolute property rights under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. It argues that while repealing such patriarchal legal provisions is necessary to uphold constitutional guarantees against gender and religion-based discrimination, legal reform alone is insufficient to eradicate entrenched social evils like dowry, which persist despite anti-dowry statutes. The paper highlights how dowry practices, rooted in patriarchal norms and "moral influence," continue to coerce women and their families, often leading to abuse and dowry deaths, and stresses that societal sensitization alongside legislative change is essential for meaningful progress toward gender equality.