Are you married? If you are not married, you should read this. And if you are, you must read this. It is essential to be familiar with the rights of married women in India if you are a woman. It is also necessary to be familiar with Indian laws regarding women’s rights. Family court cases can be a burden on the parties involved. Family is the foundation for all Indian children. Indian laws regarding married women’s rights are being discussed.

What are the Rights of a Woman After Marriage

People who are familiar with the basic laws for women’s rights must be aware that Indian laws tend to favor women. This blog will discuss the law on women’s rights after marriage in India. Sometimes, women want to be contained within the confines of the rules for married women. They continue to do this until things become difficult in their marital lives. When this happens, what might happen, and how it will affect their married lives becomes the subject of personal laws that can be legally understood through family attorneys. Specific secular and non-religious laws also support women’s rights in India, regardless of their faith.

India’s laws regarding married women’s rights

Right to Reside in Marital Homes

A wife has the legal right to live in the matrimonial house, regardless of whether her husband owns it. The property can be rented or owned by the husband. Access to the marital home cannot be revoked during domestic violence proceedings. This was the explanation of the hon’ble Supreme Court when it interpreted provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 in a 2020 Case Law.

Streedhan is right at your fingertips.

According to Hindu laws, all gifts a woman receives before, during, and after her marriage and during childbirth are ‘Streedhan.’ In the Pratibha Kumari case [2], the Supreme Court clarified and exact Streedhan’s position. This excludes any possibility for husband’s joint status. The property division after divorce doesn’t include Streedhan.

Right to Maintenance by Husband

Maintenance refers to the financial support that one spouse provides for another during marriage. A woman who is financially dependent on her husband to pay her basic expenses can apply for maintenance according to the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973. A woman can claim maintenance even after divorce or before a second marriage. Alimony rights are rights that a woman has in India when she is divorced. Depending on the court’s decision, these rights can be either a one-time payment or a monthly distribution. The provision of maintenance is non-gender specific, but it can be pointed out that maintenance is gender-neutral. The wife can provide maintenance to husband if the husband depends on his wife for survival.

Right to Live with Dignity and Respect

The laws in India regarding married women’s rights are not the only ones that apply. However, Article 21 of India’s Constitution guarantees that every person has the right to live in dignity. While the definition of dignity can vary from person to person,

Right to a Committed Relationship

Married couples share a commitment to their spouse. The concept of marriage is invalidated if the answer to the question “Can a married man live with another woman legally” or vice versa. In India, marriage gives one spouse the right of company and the right to live with the other exclusively. Only divorce and legal separation are allowed to end a committed relationship.

Right to Succession in Parental Property

The Hindu Succession Act 1956 has been upheld by the Supreme Court time and again. The court also argued with the phrase “Once a girl, always a girl” HTML0­ Before 2005, laws relating to Hindu Succession didn’t include a daughter as a coparcener in order to inherit ancestral property. The 2005 amendment to the Hindu Succession Act 1956 gave married and unmarried daughters equal rights.

Human Rights Against Violence

Domestic Violence has been a growing problem in Indian homes since lockdown was implemented by COVID-19. Indian laws grant protection rights to married women. Domestic violence lawyers should be contacted immediately for violence in marriage. Cruelty by spouse or family can also be grounds for divorce or civil remedy.

Right to have the body

The woman has the absolute right to control her body. She has the right of her health [5]. It may be noted, however, that conjugal rights are part and parcel of a marriage. There is still much uncertainty over the long-debated topic of marital sexual abuse. The right to body includes the right not to have unnatural sexual sex with the husband.

Right to Get Out of Marriage

Both spouses’ consent is required to enter into a marital relationship. As husband and wife, both spouses have certain rights. Both spouses have the right to end a marriage if cohabitation is not blissful. It is possible to have mutual consent or contested divorce on certain grounds, if one spouse does not wish to end the marriage. In certain situations, Muslim women have the right to divorce. lawyers for muslim laws are recommended to be consulted as they can be quite complex.

Can a Court Forbid Husbands to Stay with Wife?

Both spouses are entitled to conjugal rights, which is the right to be against one another after marriage. Both spouses have conjugal rights against each other after marriage. The court will hear the facts and consider why one spouse quit the company. The court can order the restitution of conjugal right. The court cannot force the husband to live with his wife, or vice versa. If the husband doesn’t want to live with his wife, he can seek mutual divorce or contested divorce from her spouse.

Can a wife live apart without divorcing?

Yes. If a couple isn’t sure about divorcing but wants to remain separate without having to end their marriage, they can seek judicial separation through the court. Legal separation is possible after the end of a marriage. This is in contrast to divorce, which cannot usually be granted prior to 1 year.

Property Rights of Married Women in India

Several aspects must be considered when discussing women’s property rights in India. You may not be aware that married women have no property rights in India. If the property is her ancestral property, she can be the coparcener like a son. If it is her parent’s property, she could be a valid successor to their property. She does not have any rights in the husband’s acquired or ancestral property during his lifetime. A woman has the right to his succession rights after his death. If she has jointly invested in property and her spouses decide to divorce, she can claim shares proportional to how much she invested.

Conclusion

The argument that Indian laws are biased towards women cannot be denied after we have discussed all the rights of women in India, which flourish after marriage. This is because Indian society rules for married women often require a woman to leave behind her identity when she marries. A woman should stand up for herself and be able to empower herself, even if it is not someone else.