“Haq Tyag” Tradition Still Prevails In India

Haq Tyag is that archaic ritual that compels a young woman, who is going to get married, to sign a contractual paper through which she abandons her share in her father’s assets. Even after the Indian court making it mandatory for girls to have a fair share in maternal possessions more than a decade ago, this practice is still prevalent in some northern states.

In Rajasthan, contracts are thrown at girls’ faces before their marriage to get their approval of relinquishing their part in their property.  Now it is a fair and voluntary act but the girls face societal pressure to sign the document as otherwise they will be breaking their relations with their own family and relatives.

K Bina Devi told Thomson Reuters that days before she got married, she was called by her maternal family in the living room of the house she lived in with her four brothers and parents to sign the papers of relinquishment of her father's property. This happened 18 years ago, she said, and it was a ceremonial event where friends, family and fellow villagers had gathered to watch the show.

“In some cases, it may not be voluntary. But how can we check if the woman is signing willingly or not? That is why we have laws that encourage property ownership by women," said Rajendra Singh Shekhawat, a joint secretary in the state government, as reported by News.com.au.

Parents and elders justify this abandoning of share by comparing it to the money spent in the girls’ wedding and daan that she takes to her husband’s house. And it is a general understanding that women, after their marriage, become a part of their husbands’ houses and aren’t a part of their maternal family, at least financially.

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“It is deep-rooted patriarchy that tells women they are okay only as long as they have the protection of a man," said Varsha Joshi, an associate professor at the Institute of Development Studies in Jaipur. Varsha has studied property ownership among women in rural Rajasthan.

"Women have no security, no guarantee of a roof over their heads. And it is assumed they will never go against their families or go to court over being denied their right to property," she said.

A particularly orthodox and misogynistic tradition, this is actually the state’s cover given to the people residing in it. The amendment to the Hindu Succession Act 2005 allowed women to have equal inheritance in their family property. However, the state law allows voluntary Haq Tyag, which is in sheer contradiction with the national law.

Giving support to such laws, the state deems that women shouldn’t have any role to play in anyone’s property as in her husband’s house, he will be entitled to the property and not the woman individually. So this is one big reason when in case of social calamities, women are the ones who suffer the most.

Picture credit- Rajasthan Patrika