AIDWA slams SC's verdict on tribal women's property rights, terms it 'anti-women'

Shimla, Oct. 25 -- The All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has strongly criticised the Supreme Court's decision to quash the Himachal Pradesh High Court judgment that had granted Scheduled Tribe women rights to ancestral property under Section 1 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. AIDWA described the ruling as "unfortunate, regressive, and anti-women."In a statement issued here today, AIDWA said that the verdict has dealt a major blow to the ongoing struggle for gender equality in tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh, particularly in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts, where women have long been denied legal rights to ancestral property.

"While women elsewhere in the country are entitled to property rights under the Hindu Successio...