SC Says Man Has No Right Over Wife's Streedhan: Why Is It A Landmark Ruling?

When one thinks about a housewife, the first picture that forms is that of a woman exerting herself in the kitchen. Rarely financial empowerment is connected with housewives who are supposed to take care of the house but never handle money. We don't talk about Streedhan enough. Traditionally women are believed to be bad at managing money. And so the business of earning money is reserved for men.

In a recent ruling, the  Supreme Court of India said that a husband has no right over a woman's streedhan. He might use it in times of distress but he must return it back to the woman. The court made this judgement while directing a husband to pay 25 lakh rupees to his wife in return for her lost gold. 

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said that the streedhan doesn't become a joint property of the husband and wife. The husband has in no way an ownership of the property. The bench said, "Properties gifted to a woman before marriage, at the time of marriage or at the time of bidding farewell or thereafter are her streedhan properties. It is her absolute property with all rights to dispose at her own pleasure." 

It further added, "The husband has no control over her streedhan property. He may use it during the time of his distress but nonetheless, he has a moral obligation to restore the same or its value to his wife."

The case that the court was addressing

The case in hand was of a woman who claimed compensation for her lost streedhan. She said that her family gifted her 89 sovereigns of gold at the time of marriage. Moreover, her father gave two lakh rupees to her husband after marriage. 

However, the woman alleged, that on the first night after marriage, her husband took custody of the streedhan and entrusted it to his mother saying that the gold would be safe. However, the woman alleged that her husband and her mother-in-law used the streedhan to pay for pre-existing financial liabilities. 

In 2011, the family court had recognised that the streedhan was indeed misappropriated and the woman must be compensated. However, the Kerala High Court said that the woman couldn't produce any evidence for the misappropriation of the streedhan. and partly set aside the judgement of the family court.

It was then that the woman approached the Supreme Court of India. 

Why do we assume that women cannot handle or safeguard money?

If we look into the case above, it is clear that the man didn't consider the woman able enough to safeguard her own money. And so the woman was also brainwashed into believing that the husband can take care of the streedhan better than her. 

Today when many women are the leaders of the world, is it right to assume that money is not for women? Is it right to assume that women, especially housewives, cannot manage money? Isn’t financial independence the right of every woman? Isn’t it the building block of the edifice of women empowerment?

When we talk about housewives, financial independence is rarely the topic of discussion. By the fact that a woman chose to stay at home, it is assumed that she never wants to earn or manage money. But we need to understand that whether working (formally) or not, women deserve to have financial independence. In the case of housewives, we need to shed the blindfold that housewives have nothing to do with money and see that money is an important part of their life.

Housewives are the pillars of support of the entire family not only because they look after the basic needs but also because they manage the budget of the family.

Women can manage money: Study

Women have a special skill to manage and save money by handling the budget of the family. Studies have also proven that women have better skills in managing money than men. According to research by Fidelity Investment, women not only save more money than men but their investments also earn more returns annually. So how is it right to assume that women are not good at managing money? It is nothing but a myth concocted by patriarchy to keep women out of financial empowerment.

However, despite this, women at home are dismissed from the discussions about family’s finances. And this is only ridiculous because how can any discussion about a family’s finances be complete without involving the one person who is responsible to decide how the income of the family is spent and saved. As far as housewive’s financial empowerment is concerned, they must be encouraged to invest the saved money in the right places. They should create a bank account and deposit their savings.

Understanding Streedhan

Women should not feel ashamed of asking for money from their husbands because it is their right. The right to Sreedhan says that a woman can claim her Streedhan at any time and use it whichever way they want. Moreover, if the wife is not earning, the husband must create a joint account to allow his wife access to his money. Marriage is about equality, if women are devoting their time and effort to handling the house, the husband must compensate for it by making her a partner in his finances. Because obviously money embodies power in our society. And women deserve to possess it.

Furthermore, women must be encouraged to start a small business from home and earn some money. There are many women who not only handle the housework but also use their additional skills to run a small business like tiffin services, tailoring, beauty parlours, food corners and whatnot. We need to stop assuming that just because a woman chose to be a housewife, she cannot earn through different ways. Being a housewife does not limit the exposures and opportunities that women can explore.

Lastly, it is high time society recognises the importance of housework and gives it the status of a paid job and build on the thinking of what Streedhan aims at. Few countries like Japan, have taken the initiative. It is time for India to start paying for domestic work that engages almost every woman.

In conclusion, I would like to say that any movement for women empowerment will not make sense if it doesn’t involve housewives. It is time we stop undermining women who chose to be at home. Housework is not a shameful or easy job as many people perceive it to be. It deserves pay and respect. And women choose to be housewives not because it is an easier way to live but because they want to selflessly devote themselves to taking care of the family. It is time we respect that. So stop judging women’s choices against narrow definitions of empowerment. And start encouraging housewives to be socially and financially empowered.

Views expressed are the author's own.