Married Women's Property Act Essay

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The significance of the 1874 Married Women 's Property Act in today 's Indian society The 1874 Married Women’s Property Act (MWPA) aims towards consolidating the rights of married Indian women upon their own earnings and property. This Act effectively safeguards the right of a married woman towards owning and utilizing her personal financial property. This Act also affirms that a married woman’s personal property is hers alone and her relatives cannot claim their right to it by virtue of their relationship with her. In addition, this Act also provides certain social benefits to married Indian men.
Section 3 of this Act concerns with its commencement and was revoked by the Repealing Act of 1876. It is, therefore, beyond the scope of this article. …show more content…

In all such cases, the married woman pays dues using her own earnings & property. However, if the husband works or acts as an intermediary in the trust, he does become accountable.
The underuse of the benefits of the MWP Act in India:
The MWPA, 1874 offers many benefits to married men and women. It gives married women privileges at par with men in terms of financial earnings and property. This Act also benefits married women in the area of Life Insurance. However, despite all this, the provisions of the MWP Act are not being widely used by its intended target group in India.

The MWP Act is more than 100 years old. However, not many Indian citizens know about it. Considering that this Act financially empowers married women, its lack of awareness among all sections (uneducated & educated) of this population segment is quite unfortunate. The Ministry of Women & Child Development must take concrete steps towards informing married women about their rights under this Act. Its Section 6 pertains to the Insurance sector in the country. Here also, a lack of understanding is

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